Review and Herald, Vol. 38, No. 1. (6/20/1871)

Review and Herald

Jun 20, 1871

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 20, 1871

Peculiarities of the First Day of Time.

By John Nevins Andrews

BY ELD. J. N. ANDREWS.

The first individuals or things of the various series which exist in the creation are necessarily different in some respects from those which exist after them. The reason is obvious: the first of each series comes into existence directly from the hand of God, whereas all the subsequent members of that series exist in consequence of the laws of nature which the Creator has established.

Thus the first trees, the first plants, and the first grass, rose up out of the earth by the direct power of God, and without springing from the seed of previous trees, or plants, or grass, or going through the slow process of natural growth. But every tree, and every plant, and every living thing, which springs from the ground since the first of each series, must come from its predecessor in some way which God has ordained, and each has to go through the gradual process of growth.

The like remarks apply to the fishes of the sea, the fowls of the air, and to the beasts and reptiles of the earth. The first individuals of each kind were created by the direct power of God, while all other members of those classes derive their existence from those who live before them.

The first man was formed of the dust of the ground, and awoke to life in the possession of full mental powers, and a fully developed physical frame. The first woman was taken from the side of the first man, and she also had no period of childhood, and no process of gradual development to pass through. But their posterity have not begun life thus. These cases justify the statement that the first individual of each series of beings or things which the Creator has ordained or established is necessarily in some respects different from those which come after in the series. The beginning of existence of the first member of each series is different from that of all those which succeed.

We need not therefore be surprised to find that this principle holds good with reference to the first day of time. Though the first division of the first day was night, in which respect it is like all other days, yet that first night was not introduced by twilight; for it began at the moment when God said, Let the earth exist, and it was then profound darkness. And again, though that first night began as much in one place as another, for it was marked simply by the creative act, every evening since that has begun with twilight or sunset, and this can exist only on a narrow tract at any one time. So that each evening since has begun at the place of the first evening twilight, and has thence made the circuit of the globe. There was nothing by which to measure the time from the creation of the world to the creation of light; for there was no luminary in existence, and darkness prevailed over the whole globe. But there were then no dwellers upon the earth, and therefore no inconvenience resulted; for it was not difficult for the Creator to measure the hours of the first night, and to determine the proper moment when daylight should succeed darkness in such manner as to give the proper period of each to the first day of time. But when light was created, the measurement of days in their two great divisions of light and darkness became not only possible, but inevitable. Thenceforward there was, each twenty-four hours, a period of some twelve hours of darkness and one of the like duration for light.

And here two methods of measuring time were open to the choice of the Creator. He could, after the first twelve hours of universal darkness, had he seen fit to do so, have commanded the light to shine upon every part of the earth for the ensuing twelve hours, and then in an instant he could have extinguished that light, thus marking the close of the first day. Then after twelve hours of night the world over, he could have created universal light, and then in another twelve hours he could have struck this also from existence, thus marking the termination of the second day. And this method he might have adopted had it seemed good to him.

But he created light once for all. And that both day and night might come once each day of twenty-four hours, he caused the earth to revolve, so that these should succeed each other in the daily circuit of the world. Had he adopted the first of these methods for the measurement of time, he would have given to the human family days which would begin at the same instant over the whole earth. And by this means he would have avoided the establishment of a day line from which day should make the circuit of the globe. But, instead of this, he chose that day should begin in one place earliest of all, and that it should from thence go round the world. And thus the day line forms a part of God's arrangement in the measurement of time, and is a necessary consequence from his act of lighting one side of the world and causing that it should thenceforward revolve from the darkness into the light, and from the light into the darkness; so that the western extremity of the light was the place or line where the twilight existed on first-day morning, followed by twelve hours of daylight; and this must have been the day line in the purpose of God, for it was the place of twilight at the close of the first day; and if at the close of the first day, so was it also at the close of the third. And the sun beginning his rule at this point, it was manifestly the place or line whence the first sunset commenced to make the circuit of the globe.

But it may be asked, Why select as the place of the day line the western side of that field which covered one side of the globe at the creation of light? Why not consider the whole of that field of light the morning of the first day, and thus exclude the idea of a day line at that time? Or if the place from which the first morning is reckoned must be where twilight exists, why not take the twilight on the east side of the field of light with quite as much propriety as that on the west side of that field? Our answer to this is direct and explicit. Three things unite to prove that the standpoint of the Holy Spirit in the notation of time in Gen. 1 must have been the line where light on its west side at the time of its creation mingled with the darkness.

1. Morning is introduced by twilight. Twilight existed on the eastern and the western edges of the field of light, and it did not exist between those two lines. The first morning must therefore be at one of those two extremities, and could not be at any part of the intermediate territory. And, still further, it must be where twilight gives place to daylight. This was true of that narrow tract on the western confines of light, where light and darkness first mingled; but it was not true of the like tract on the eastern border of light, for the revolution of the earth to the eastward carried that western tract where light and darkness mingled into and across that field of light, while the eastern tract where light and darkness mingled was at the same time carried into and across the field of darkness.

2. It must also be where twelve hours of daylight can succeed the twilight of morning, so that it may with the previous twelve hours of darkness, or night, make up the first twenty-four-hour day. But this is just the length of time requisite for that narrow tract of the earth's surface where, at the creation of light, darkness mingled with the west edge of the light, to be carried eastward across that field of light; whereas a tract midway between the edges of that field of light would require six hours only to reach the darkness on the east, and cannot therefore be the place where morning first existed. And as to the line of twilight on the east side of the lighted surface of the earth, it could not be the place from which the reckoning of morning first began; for as the earth turned eastward on its axis, it did at once begin to enter the darkness which lay to the east of it.

3. The standpoint of the Spirit of God is indicated by two things which, on examination, are found to be in exact agreement: (1.) When God had created light, he immediately began to separate the light from the darkness by causing the earth to revolve eastward. This shows that the standpoint of the Spirit of God in this narration is where light and darkness mingled, on the west side of the light, which place thus occupying the west edge of the light, was carried eastward through it. (2.) And this same point must also have been where the first morning was noted by the Spirit of God, and that was the western, and not the eastern, twilight; for at the place of that western twilight alone could follow the twelve hours of daylight, while the eastern twilight immediately gave place to darkness.

These three statements are quite sufficient to answer the question why we fix the standpoint of the Spirit of God for the measurement of time on the west side of the light at the twilight of that first morning. But here is also another fact worthy of mention in this connection. Darkness and light make the apparent circuit of the earth westward, though really making no circuit at all, simply because that the earth turns eastward. In the divine order, the darkness is in advance, and the light is behind it, in their course around the earth. And now observe: could we waive the facts above noticed, we should still be unable to fix the line of morning twilight elsewhere than on the west edge of the light, for this recognizes the fact that the darkness, lying as it does to the west of that line, leads the train in the circuit of day around our globe; whereas if we could otherwise see how to place the line of morning twilight on the east side of the field of light, we should then have the light in the advance, and the darkness in the rear, in the circuit of the globe, which is false in fact.

When God had lighted one half of our globe by the creation of the light, the other half remaining dark, the time of day at different points in the circuit of the globe was in appearance this: the line where the western extremity of the light mingled with the eastern extremity of the darkness, was that of morning twilight; half way across this field of light it was apparently noon; and at the eastern extremity of the light, where it touched the western verge of darkness, it was in appearance the twilight of evening; and at the same moment at the point midway between the eastern and the western bounds of the darkness it was like midnight. But there was only one of these points at which the time of day was exactly what it seemed to be, and this point is the day line which the Spirit of God established for the reckoning of time at the moment when light was created. This can be shown very clearly.

In order that twelve hours of daylight should follow at that meridian where the twilight of morning first existed, it was necessary that one half of the globe to the east of this line should be lighted up, so that the revolution of the earth to the east should give just that period of daylight to fill out the second division of the first day of time. But was it not at that very moment midnight in the middle of that field of darkness, and noon at the middle of that field of light, and evening at the eastern verge of that light, as it was morning at the twilight on its western edge? It may seem so to the reader before he gives the subject thought. But in order that it should be noon in reality at the middle of that field of light it was necessary that some six hours of daylight should have existed already. But instead of this, one instant before, it was at that point profound darkness. Also it was then only twelve hours from the creation, whereas the first day should be eighteen hours old before noon could exist at any point. And as to the middle of that field of darkness, time could not be noted there as midnight at the point when God lighted the other side of the globe; for the first day of time was then twelve hours old instead of being only six. Again, in order that it should be rightly called evening at the eastern edge of the field of light, it was necessary that some twelve hours of daylight should have existed prior to the shades of evening coming on. Yet only one moment before the first existence of twilight at that point, there was the total darkness of original night. And moreover, if it were in reality evening on the eastern edge of the field first covered by the light, it would make the second day commence when the first day was only twelve hours old.

But how about that line, or tract of our earth's surface, where the western edge of the light first mingled with the darkness? We have marked this point as the place of the morning twilight, and as the place of that line by means of which days are counted in Gen. 1. We have seen that every other point, when light was created, the apparent time of day was not such in reality. How was it at this point? Certainly it had the phenomena of morning; for it was there twilight with darkness on the west, and daylight on the east. But that it should be morning in reality, it was necessary that it should have been preceded by twelve hours of darkness, and that it should be succeeded by twelve hours of light. And this was the precise truth concerning this day line of Gen. 1, the standpoint of the Holy Spirit in the counting of the days of that chapter. Time thenceforward is measured by the several phenomena of day passing that line. In six hours from the creation of light it is noon at this line, and it is such in reality; for the first day of time is then eighteen hours old, and the middle of the field of light is then exactly over this remarkable line. And from this line, whence morning had set out on the circuit of the globe six hours before, noon now starts on the same ceaseless journey. In six hours more the twilight of evening comes at this day line, or transition point, and now the first day of time being twenty-four hours old, and the twilight of evening standing just over the day line, the first day of time here closes, and the second day comes on, following in the train of evening twilight that at this point begins to make that circuit of our globe which it has continued to this day.

In former articles it has been shown that it requires just forty-eight hours for each twenty-four-hour day to make the circuit of the globe. We have also seen how that two days are at the same time going round the world, with the exception of one single instant each twenty-four hours when evening has carried the commencement of day completely round the world and it is just ready to close at the point where it first set out. This circuit of day, and this day line where each day begins earliest of all, are necessary

consequences of the fact that God did not cause the day to begin at the same instant the world over. We have in this article examined the remarkable manner in which the first day of time commences the circuit of the globe. We have reached the point where the twilight of evening sets out from the day line, carrying with it the commencement of the second day of time. It will require twenty-four hours for evening thus to make the circuit of the globe, bearing in its train the second day of time, and as the second day thus advances, the first day retires before it.

The first evening began without twilight, and began at the same instant the world over. In six hours from that point it was midnight everywhere; for half of the first twelve-hour division of day was passed. In twelve hours it was the twilight of the first morning at the day line, and from this moment the phenomena of the natural course of day begins at this line, as we have seen; for here the reckoning of time on the first day is correctly indicated by the appearance of the heavens, whereas such is not the case elsewhere. In eighteen hours from the creation it was noon at the day line, and then this line was just midway of that field of light. And in twenty-four hours from the creation, the time for the evening of the second day had come, and at the day line it was evening twilight. The evening which marks the commencement of the second day could not come till the first day was twenty-four hours old, and at that very point it was at that time evening at the day line, and nowhere else, and from that point evening sets out on its first circuit of our globe.

The fact that evening, by God's wise arrangement, begins each day, and that every evening since the creation of light has first begun at the day line and thence gone round the world, shows that the second day was like all the days that have been since, in that it did not begin at one moment the world over. And as that day began only as evening advanced westward round the world, it is evident that the first day of time, like all days since, had twenty-four hours in which to retire before its successor, as that successor advanced round the world in the train of evening.

In some respects the first day of time was unlike the days which have since existed. But as the earth had then no inhabitants there was no chance for any one to be confused or perplexed at the phenomena of the first day. As it requires forty-eight hours for each day to come on the earth, and to retire from off it, so did it require that space for the first day of time. It is plain, therefore, that at the day line, each day passes under the rod of the Lord, so to speak, that it may be counted. When the first evening and the first morning (for these two terms which mark the beginning of the two twelve-hour divisions of the day are put for the two entire periods of twelve hours) have passed the day line, the first day at that point has expired, and the second day has commenced. But the second day requires twenty-four hours to follow the course of evening around the world, and the first day uses that period of time in retiring before it. In other words, twenty-four hours must elapse after the last moment of the first day has passed the day line in its westward flight, before it has completed its withdrawal from the earth, the second day at the same time following close behind it. And so each day is counted at the day line as its successor comes on to take its place; but it still occupies twenty-four hours more in giving place to that successor by retiring before it.

Those who deny that the Spirit of God had a line or standpoint at which it counted the days in Gen. 1, and affirm that each day ended when the evening and the morning had each time ended to all the world, have never thought that evening does not exist at the same moment the world over, so that it is impossible to begin and to end the day at one instant to all the world. Nor have they ever thought that as evening is constantly on the wing around our world, if there were not some point, the passing of which divided one day from another, the reckoning of the days of the week would be a thing impossible.

THE CHRISTIAN ARMOR.

By M. A. B.

Truth—’tis a golden girdle, Holding the robes in place, That we be quick to duty, And fleet to win the race.

Holiness is the breastplate Of righteousness; no dart From Satan, sin, or error, Can pierce the holy heart.

Peace—oh! what beauteous sandals For mortal feet to wear, To tread earth’s rugged pathway, The gospel news to bear.

Faith—over all the others, Are we to take this shield, To quench all Satan’s fire-shafts, And firmly hold the field.

Hope—’tis the crown immortal, Of our defensive dress; The helmet of salvation, With which we upward press.

God’s word—the sword offensive, Which victory will win, ’Gainst all the powers of evil, And all the snares of sin.

Christians, let us be furnished, With armor and with sword, And with much watching, praying, Fight bravely for the Lord.

—M. A. B.

The Fool Hath Said in his Heart, There Is no God.

By J. M. Dugan

No God? Stand under the concave heavens at night and say, if you can, “There is no God.” Utter such terrible blasphemy, and every twinkling star condemns the opacity of your understanding; every voice borne by the nocturnal winds will mourn for your utter hopelessness and accursed folly. Is there no God? Who, then, unrolled the azure scroll, and cast upon its lofty frontispiece the legible tokens of immortality? From whose hand came this green earth, with its unceasing, rolling waters, and its wide expanse of islands and the main? Who fixed the foundations of the mountains? Who gave the king of birds the secure aerie, where the tempests reign and blow the strongest, and to the dove a peaceful abode amid the forests that respond to the minstrelsy of her gentle moan? And, now, who created thee, O man, with thy marvelous allegiance of mind and stature? A Being, infinite in wisdom, who reigns over all, undivided and supreme, Fountain of all life, Source of all light, from whom all blessings flow, and in whom all happiness centers.

“No God! no God! the simplest flower That on the wild is found, Shrinks as it drinks its cup of dew, And trembles at the sound.

“The winged seeds borne by the winds, The roving sparrows feed, The melon on the desert sands, Confute the scorner’s creed.

“High sweeps the deep and vengeful sea, Along its billowy track, And red Vesuvius opes its mouth To hurl the falsehood back.” —J. M. Dugan.

Spiritual Insensibility.

By H. O. M.

BUT the church in Laodicea said: “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” Her worldliness was the inspiration of this boast. And this language of theirs shows how much they trusted in themselves, and how far they had departed from that living faith in Christ and burning love for souls which would have transfigured their riches in glory, and made their wealth to abound unto the riches of the saving, sanctifying grace of God. They were without Christ. By slow and imperceptible degrees they had gone away from their first love, until they had asserted their independence of the blood which bought them, and of the grace which saved them. They fell away from their hold on Jesus. They slipped their grasp upon his hand. They had not only fallen away from their spiritual love, and trust in Christ, but they were ignorant of their true condition, and altogether forgetful of the pit out of which they had been taken, and of the power which had delivered them. And herein is involved a wonderful spiritual fact: that we may wander away from God, and not be conscious of it, not realize it; be possessed of a fatal fancy that is as well with us as ever; become stupid, blind, ignorant of the real state of the case as it stands with us. Hence it is said of the prodigal, “When he came to himself.” And God says, by the prophet, “Israel doth not know; my people do not consider;” and here to the church in Laodicea, “Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Thou sayest that thou hast everything, and knowest not that thou hast nothing. Satan’s spell and charm of worldliness and formality must be strong and complete when such ignorance can be imposed, and such delusion be practised, upon those who have walked in the light of God, and have been partakers of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Spiritual ignorance is a guilty responsibility. After walking in the light, they did not know that they were now groping in the darkness of blindness; after feeding upon manna from Heaven, the sweet bread which Jesus gives, they did not know that now they were eating husks and garbage; did not even know that they were hungry; they said that they were rich, and did not know that they were poor and miserable; and after being clothed upon with the beautiful garments of salvation, they did not know that they were naked. Spiritual insensibility! —H. O. M.

Inconsistent: Baptism and the Divided House

By F. A. B.

Inconsistent.

“AND if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Mark 3:25.

In reading a sermon written by Timothy Dwight, S. T. D., LL. D., we find the following:

“In the preceding discourse, I considered, at some length, the reality and intention of the ordinance of baptism. According to the scheme then proposed, I shall now proceed to inquire, Who are the proper subjects of baptism? In answer to this inquiry, I observe,

“1. That all those who believe in Christ and publicly profess their faith in him, are proper subjects of baptism. That such a profession may be made with understanding, the person who makes it must be of sufficient age and sufficient capacity to know the great doctrines and duties of the gospel; and must already have become acquainted with them. He must also understand that it is the religion of the heart which is professed, and not merely a speculative belief of the truths and precepts contained in the Scriptures. Without such knowledge, no man can act, in this solemn case, with propriety, decency, or meaning. Nor do I know that the absolute necessity of such knowledge has ever been questioned.

“A public declaration of our cordial belief in the doctrines and precepts of the gospel is what is usually called in this country a ‘profession of faith;’ the ground on which, indispensably, adults are admitted to baptism.

“In addition to this, what is equally necessary to such admission, the candidate also enters publicly into covenant with God; avouching Jehovah, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, to be his God; giving himself up to the Father, through the Son, and by the Holy Ghost, as his child and servant; and engaging, that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, he will live soberly, righteously, and godly, in the world. . . One would think it hardly necessary to observe concerning this engagement, that it ought to be made with sincerity; or that the candidate ought to mean all that which is ordinarily intended by the terms of profession; or, in other words, that it ought to be made with the heart and not merely with the lips.”

Is there anything strange in the foregoing? No, nothing there but what seems perfectly consistent and in harmony with the law and gospel. Why, then, place it before the public again, since it is presumed that all Bible believers deem baptism essential, as a step toward the kingdom?

We place it here as an exhibition of the ability of learned men as well as unlearned, to produce, in the same breath, or on the same page, arguments both pro and con.

With all these foregoing statements of a learned man, does it not seem that they should be without a negative, especially from their own author? What are the facts? Simply that after stating in such plain language, the obligations resting upon the candidate for the solemn ordinance of baptism, the next sentence we find to be a statement; viz.,

“2. The infant children of believers are also scriptural subjects of baptism”!!

Comment seems unnecessary here.

F. A. B.

The Greatest Curse of Ordinary Christians

THE greatest curse to ordinary Christians would be to relieve them at once of all earthly cares.

Evening Reflection Before Retiring to Bed

When you retire to bed, think over what you have been doing during the day.

Let us Take Heed.

By M. Randall

Said David, “I will take heed to my ways.” Ps. 39; and in Ps. 119:9, he asks a very important question, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?” The answer is brief but full of instruction, “By taking heed thereto, according to Thy word.” Again, in verse 11, he says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Storing our minds with the word of God will prove a preventive against evil. By doing so, we shall be better prepared to lead virtuous lives and develop pure characters. The apostle John says, “I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” 1 John 2:14. Yes, we become strong in God by taking his word as our rule of life, and following closely in our Saviour's footsteps. Let us earnestly seek to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Let us endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

Are not many of us weak and destitute of spiritual life, through the neglect of God's word, prayer, and watchfulness? “Search the Scriptures,” said the Saviour. He also declared that “men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” The apostle Paul exhorts us to “pray without ceasing.” While we may be engaged in the duties of life, our hearts may be uplifted to God, and we be growing stronger. Paul says, in 1 Cor. 16:13, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” We may feel our weakness, and think we cannot overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil; but the Lord is for us, and he is greater than all that can be against us. Let us thank him and take courage.

Let us heed his warning given through the Testimonies. We read in them that “none are living Christians unless they have a daily experience in the things of God.” Let us then earnestly seek and obtain it. If we do not do this, we shall be shaken out. Let us gather every ray of light, press forward, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, and soon we shall receive the overcomer's reward.

M. RANDALL.

Walworth Co., Wis.

A. S. HUTCHINS

By A. S. Hutchins

Chastisement.

SAYS the apostle, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous.” Heb. 12:11. With many professed followers of Jesus, perhaps it requires but little or no effort to remember thus much of this text; while it may be much more difficult to believe from the heart, and know from actual experience, the truthfulness of what follows, “Nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

To patiently lie under the rod of chastisement of our Heavenly Father, to endure with Christian fortitude, afflictive and painful dispensations of providence, buoyed up with the reflection that they will work far more and better for us than could numerous earthly blessings and comforts, gives the child of God great confidence and trust in him.

The trials and temptations which come upon us in consequence of our connection with the cause of God, may be likened to the workman seasoning his lumber for important use. “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him; for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” We must be tried. Our strength in the Lord must be developed before he can trust us with great blessings, or before calling us to fill important stations. God will prove us before taking us to himself.

The truth on this point, is beautifully expressed in the following words: “And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded; for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself.” Wisdom of Solomon III:5.

A. S. HUTCHINS

Ghostly Social Entertainments Versus Scriptural Giving

By A. Weeks

Ghostly.

I COPY the following from the Port Huron Times, as significant in showing the state of the churches:—

“The ‘sheet and pillow case’ social, at the residence of Mrs. F. L. Wells, on Wednesday evening, April 19, was a very enjoyable affair, affording entertainment and amusement to all present.

“Some twenty or thirty persons were arrayed in ghostly habiliments with masks, and about one hundred persons were present altogether. There was great curiosity among the lookers-on to learn the identity of the maskers, but only a few of them were recognized. The party broke up shortly after ten o’clock. The receipts of the social, for the benefit of the Episcopal church were something over $22.”

Now let us compare the manner of raising money recommended by Paul, with the above mode: “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him.” 1 Cor. 16: 2. This instructs us to make the laying aside a portion of our earnings the first business of the week. Therefore laying by as God has prospered is a duty. But the popular churches have lost sight of this duty, and have resorted to all manner of inventions appealing to the passions of the worldling. The principle in this matter seems to be that the church must be supported if the devil has to do it.

Only imagine Paul countenancing “a ghostly entertainment,” and you have a picture that is revolting, yet it is the position of many that claim to be treading the narrow way. It may be truly said, Babylon is fallen.

A. WEEKS. Smith’s Creek, Mich.

The Bright Side.

Look on the bright side. It is the right side. The times may be hard, but it will make them no easier to wear a gloomy and sad countenance. It is the sunshine, and not the cloud, that makes the flower. The sky is blue ten time where it is black once. You have troubles, so have others. None are free from them. Troubles give sinew and tone to life—fortitude and courage to man. That would be a dull sea, and the sailor would never get skill, where there was nothing to disturb the surface of of the ocean. What though things look a little dark? the tide will turn, and night will end in broad day. Men are not made to hang down their heads. There is more virtue in one sunbeam than a whole hemisphere of clouds and gloom.

Looking Others in the Face When Speaking

WHEN you speak to a person, look him in the face.

A Word fitly Spoken.

THE following incident shows the importance of speaking a word in season for Christ. “A word fitly spoken, how good it is!” How it fastens itself upon the conscience and heart, and brings forth fruit in due season!

More than fifteen years ago, when called to watch with an old gentleman, eighty-two years of age, who had been a devoted Christian more than fifty years, who was totally blind, and suffering constantly with intense pain, I found him patiently bearing all, leaning on Christ. I was about sixteen years old, and as I entered the room, the lady introducing me, he said: “I want to take your hand in mine. And so you have come to sit up with me. I should think by your hand that you must be a young man. I want to talk with you more by-and-by.”

When the family had retired, he asked me to place my hand again in his, and said, “I want to ask you a few questions. Are you a Christian?” I thought I must answer honestly, and I said: “No!” “Do you mean to be sometime?” “Yes!” “Well, then, what are you waiting for?” I was speechless. But the questions were daily in my mind until I gave my heart to Christ.—Sel.

ARE we not tempted all to think more of a strict outward observance of our religious duties, than of deep, inward, hourly communion with Christ?

THE sinner’s way of pleasure is far from being everlasting, for even here the wine-cup of sin first yields the sweetness of intoxication, afterwards it becomes insipid with satiety, after that it grows bitter with remorse, and as for the dregs thereof, what a hell burns within them!”

CONSCIENCE is a judge placed in the interior of our being.

No PERSON ever got stung by hornets, who kept away from where they were. It is so with habits.

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