Review and Herald, Vol. 33, No. 21. (5/18/1869)

Review and Herald

May 18, 1869

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 18, 1869

I WILL COME AGAIN.

By P. C. Rodman

BY ELD. P. C. RODMAN.

TEXT.—“Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John xiv, 1-3.

There are several reasons why the hearts of the disciples were troubled, as this language implies. We will notice some of them.

1. He had introduced an ordinance that they did not fully understand, although they had taken part in it, and Jesus had explained to them its import, and said unto them, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”

2. He had astonished them by declaring that one of them should betray him; and they began to inquire, “Is it I? is it I?” not suspecting Judas, even.

3. After he had gone out, Jesus said, “Yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me; and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. Then to Peter he had said he could not follow him then, but should follow him afterwards; and in reply to his assertion he told him he should deny him. Read John xiii, entire.

Not fully understanding all this, and especially because he was going to leave them, they were troubled. But, says Jesus, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me.” They had confidence in God; they were only to have the same in him, and it would disperse doubt. And well may they repose confidence in him who was rich, but for their sakes had become poor, that they might be rich; for his love for the faithful will never abate.

He said to them, “I will not leave you comfortless, but will pray the Father and he will give you another Comforter that shall abide with you forever. Verses 15, 18. What is this Comforter?” “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” Verse 25.

Thus on the day of Pentecost they were not troubled and filled with doubt; for they were able to explain the things that were transpiring. Having done as Jesus had told them to do, they had kept his commandments and so abode in his love. But some one may ask, what especial commandment of the Saviour they had kept. “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high.” Luke xxiv, 49.

After they had patiently waited, the promise was fulfilled. Then while others were amazed and in doubt, Peter stood up and explained the wonder by quoting from the prophet Joel, saying, This is that, &c. He preached quite a discourse which resulted in the adding of three thousand souls, to the hundred and twenty, in one day. This is pretty good testimony in favor of expounding the prophecies, and showing present truth to the people.

Brethren, be of good cheer. Truth is just as clear and as easy to be understood now, as then; and Jesus says, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He will give us rest from condemnation, by granting us pardon of all our sins; only confess and forsake. If we take his yoke and learn of him, he will enable us to live obedient to God, and to prepare for the eternal rest that remains for his people. This certainly implies labor. This would lead us to inquire,

What would Jesus have us do, that he did? We answer, Keep the Father's commandments. But some will say, We cannot do that. Not of ourselves, it is true; but we have One to help us, that is able to lead us to victory over all our sins, so that we can live soberly and righteously in this present world. Read Rom. viii, 1-4: “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Is not this a comforting thought for us who wish to be servants of the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from Heaven, that we can keep his holy commandments, and thus really love him who has loved us so as to give his only begotten Son for us, that we might have eternal life?

Verse 2. “In my Father's house are many mansions: If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself: that where I am, there ye may be also.” All Bible believers believe Jesus did go: but do they believe he has gone to prepare a place for us? I believe he has gone to prepare a place for his people; but it is our privilege to go still farther than this. Our faith can take hold on those mansions as being prepared for us. Shall we not come up to this point, and so rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

What a precious promise here is: “I will come again and receive you unto myself.” But where shall we be then? Where will he take us? Answer. To the place he has gone to prepare.

Said a minister some years since, “He has gone to prepare the earth, for this is to be the eternal abode of the saints, when made new.”

Now it is here the righteous shall inherit the land and dwell therein forever; but they have the promise of following the Saviour to the place he has gone to prepare, and that place is in Heaven.

Proof: Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, “Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterward.” John xiii, 36. It may be objected that this is virtually saying that the saints shall inherit Heaven. Not quite that, but we do say they are promised an inheritance in Heaven.

Proof: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you. In this text we are taught that by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead we are begotten to a lively hope, or hope of life, and that eternal; and then, as if anticipating the inquiry, Where shall we live when alive never more to die, he adds, to an “inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.”

Say, brother, or sister, shall we love these things that we behold all defiled more or less, and fading as they are? Or shall we use them as not abusing them, and love this unfading, incorruptible inheritance, so having our affections on things above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God? Which occupies our mind and interests us the most? That which does, must be our treasure; and where our treasure is, there will our heart be also.

But how and when shall we come to possess this inheritance? Answer, “Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” Luke xiv, 14. Another testimony: “For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. iv, 16-18. Now when we are resurrected and go to meet the Lord, he will take us to that incorruptible inheritance, and there the saints will abide in safety while the earth is made empty, and its inhabitants, the wicked, are swept off by the destruction of the mighty God, whose unmixed wrath shall come upon them. Isa. xxiv, 1-6. Zoph. i, 3, reads, “I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks

with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.” Read also verses 14-18. Thus is described the result of the unmixed wine of the wrath of God, as threatened by the third angel, upon all that worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand; but when this time comes there is seen a company of whom it is said, “Here is the patience of the saints, here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Shall we be among the last company described? If we are, must we not bear this character before God? Certainly; for the faithful Witness has said, “Blessed are they that do his [God's] commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into his city.” Rev. xiv, 9, 12, and xxii, 14.

Here we think we have found the incorruptible inheritance that is reserved in Heaven for us, who are kept by the power of God unto salvation, and also the character of those who will be thus kept; for the Lord will keep the way of his saints; for he is the hope of his people amid the perils of the last days. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler; Thy law is the truth. Ps. xci, 4; cxix, 142. God will protect his loyal people, and give them a home in those mansions he has gone to prepare, while the earth is desolated without an inhabitant; and there they will dwell a thousand years, amid the splendor of the eternal city, and be associated with Christ in the judgment of the world. 1 Cor. vi, 2: “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?” Again, Rev. xx, 4-6: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands: and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. . . . Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: On such the second death hath no power: but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Thus the saints will make a visit of one thousand years to Heaven. What will take place after that? This we answer by calling attention to Rev. v, 9, 10: “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. And hast made us unto our God kings and priests.” This we think will take place during the thousand years, while the saints rejoice over their deliverance, in the city with its golden streets, jasper walls, and pearly gates, in the society of angels anticipating their glorious rest on the earth eternally; for thus they continue: “And we shall reign on the earth.” Are they then to leave their glorious abodes in Heaven? I answer, No. It is to descend and be the metropolis of the everlasting possession, and they will come to partake of the fruit of the tree of life each month, that is in the midst of the Paradise of God. Then, after the thousand years, the saints and city will be on the earth. The earth will be made new; and there will be no more curse. Dear hearer, will you be there? May you so obey God and follow the good Shepherd, that he may receive you to reign with him, when he comes again, to receive his people, and take them to the place he has now gone to prepare. Amen.

THE PRESENT.

By L. D. Santee

Dark lowering clouds are floating o'er the plain, Fitful the breeze that wildly sweeps along, Dark is the air, and thick with falling rain, Fit emblem of the tide of crime and wrong.

Weary and long the ages that have passed, Since sang in joyful strains the morning stars, Since then is borne upon the evening blast, The captives sighing through the prison bars.

The wail of sorrow, and the cry of pain, Arises from the worn earth's troubled breast, We seek the city's crowded mart in vain, Or loneliest groves in earnest search of rest.

Man bears a heavy load of care and grief, Mid polar snows, 'neath equatorial suns; He lives in sorrow, and his days are brief, His breath soon passes, and his race is run.

But thanks to Him, who mighty is to save; He pitied us, and for us he has died; Now we have hope that goes beyond the grave, Through Christ our Lord, who once was crucified.

L. D. SANTEE. Princeville, Ill.

HE IS FAITHFUL THAT PROMISED.

“I WILL come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also.” John xiv, 3. If the meeting of a long absent friend or brother on earth be a joyous event, what, my soul, must be the joy of thy union with this Brother of brothers, this Friend of friends? “I will come again.” Oh! what an errand of love, what a promised honor and dignity is this! His saints are to share, not his Heaven only, but his immediate presence. “Where I am there ye shall be also.” “Father, I will”—it was his dying wish, a wondrous codicil in that testamentary prayer—“that those whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.” Happy reunion! Blessed Saviour, if thy presence be so sweet on a sin-stricken earth, and when known only by the invisible eye of faith, what must be that presence in that sinless Heaven, unfolded in all its unutterable loveliness and glory? Happy reunion! It will be a meeting of the whole ransomed family: the Head, with all its members; the Vine with all its branches; the Shepherd with all his flock; the Elder Brother with all his kinsmen. Oh! the joy too, of mutual recognition among the death-divided; ties snapped asunder on earth indissolubly renewed; severed friendships reunited; the triumph of love complete; love binding brother with brother, and friend with friend, and all to the Elder Brother. My soul, what thinkest thou of this Heaven? Remember who it is that Jesus says shall sit with him upon his throne—“Him that overcometh.”

THE INVESTIGATIVE JUDGMENT.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

That the Judgment is past before the Lord comes, that every man's case is decided either for life or death, and that no judgment in the sense of determining character, takes place at the coming of Jesus to the earth, is clearly shown by several facts:

1. The wicked are destroyed by the brightness of Christ's coming. “And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” 2 Thess. ii, 8. The Lord does not come and judge them, and then destroy them, but they are destroyed by the brightness of his coming. So we read again, chap. i, 7, 8: “And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This leaves no place for a Judgment after his coming. In perfect harmony with this we are told that all the tribes of the earth will mourn when they see the Lord coming in the clouds of heaven, Matt. xxiv, 30; and that the wicked will call for rocks and mountains to cover them. Rev. vi, 16.

2. But the righteous at the same time are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. “For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. iv, 16, 17. When the trumpet sounds the dead are raised, the living changed in a moment, and all are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Here again there is no place for a judgment after his coming. The fact that the saints are caught up to meet the Lord at his coming, and that the living wicked are consumed at the same time, shows that it has been previously ascertained and decided who are saints, and who are sinners. But this is the work of the Judgment; therefore the investigative Judgment must precede the coming of the Lord.

3. The righteous are raised with incorruptible and spiritual bodies. Says Paul: “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Cor. xv, 51, 52. Again: “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.” Verses 42–44. This is too plain to be misunderstood. The righteous will come out of their graves all glorious and ready for the kingdom. But how will it be with the wicked? They will never have immortal bodies; hence they will come up as they went down, with mortal bodies. Hence, before God raises either of them from the dead, every man's case has been investigated and decided either for immortality, or for death. The fact that God raises one mortal and the other immortal, shows that there has been a judgment on their cases before they were raised. Then why judge them after that? Is there danger that there has been a mistake made, and one raised immortal who ought not to have been?

4. There are a thousand years between the resurrection of the saints and that of the wicked. This is distinctly stated in Rev. xx. Of the righteous it says; “They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.” Verses 4–6. This, again, shows the same idea, viz., that the Judgment sits before any are raised from the dead, in order that it may be ascertained whom to raise in the first resurrection, and whom to leave for the second.

5. The order of events given in Rev. xiv, shows that the Judgment sits before the coming of Christ. Three messages are there given, verses 6–12, and then the Son of Man comes to reap the harvest of the world, verses 14–16. The first message announces the fact to all nations that the hour of God's Judgment has come, verse 7. He states a fact. He does not lie. It did come when he declared it. But after the angel thus announces the hour of Judgment come, two other angels follow him each with a warning message. These two messages are given after the hour of Judgment has actually come, and hence, of course, while the Judgment is going on. There is no avoiding this conclusion. So we find that when Christ comes, it is not to the Judgment, but to carry out the decisions of a Judgment already past. Hence, he brings his reward with him to give unto every man according to his work. Rev. xxii, 12.

6. The typical service of the priests in the earthly sanctuary shows the same fact. All the service of the priests had to be done in the sanctuary. There the priests ministered during the year, and there the high priest made the atonement on the last day of the year. when he came out of the sanctuary, the work for Israel was done. There was no judgment after that. Lev. xvi.

But this was a type of the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. Heb. viii, 9. Just so then must all the work of Christ's ministry for the people be done in the heavenly sanctuary. It cannot part be done there, and a part be done on earth away from the sanctuary. As the high priest made the atonement, which was a type of the Judgment, in the earthly sanctuary, so Christ must make the great atonement, which is the real Judgment, in the real sanctuary in Heaven.

7. We need an advocate when our cases come into Judgment. If ever a man needs an advocate to plead his case it is when his case comes into court for judgment. Now Christ is our advocate with the Father, 1 John ii, 1, our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, Heb. viii, 1, 2. He pleads our cases at the mercy-seat with the Father. But when he leaves the sanctuary he is no longer High Priest, but comes to this earth clothed in garments of vengeance with the title of King of kings, Rev. xix, 11–16. If our cases come into judgment after that, we must stand before our Judge without an advocate. In that case no mortal man could stand. Hence, this also shows that the Judgment takes place before the second coming of Christ.

Against this position, however, it is objected that when Christ comes, all nations will be gathered before him, and he will divide the sheep from the goats, &c. Matt. xxv, 31. But I notice that there is nothing said about a Judgment at that time. He immediately proceeds to separate them, and state the reasons for it. It is simply a separation, not a judgment scene.

These facts incline me to think that the Judgment is in the past at the second coming of Christ, and that we are now living in the judgment hour.

D. M. CANRIGHT.

An Awful Flood of Death.

We are informed that $200,000 were collected in Chicago during the month of October last, as revenue from the sale of whisky at fifty cents per gallon. Just think of it! Four hundred thousand gallons of whisky sold in Chicago in one month! No sane man will suppose for a moment that the thieves engaged in this unholy business, have returned the full amount of sales, and what the real returns should be, no one will ever know. But, suppose the returns to be correct, what an awful flood of destruction, desolation and death

to be poured down the throats of Chicago in a single month! The assertion that the good people of this great western city consume 13,333 gallons of liquid death and fiery damnation every day, sounds very much like a Munchausen story; but when the scoundrels engaged in this murderous business return revenue for sales to that amount, we may safely set the consumption down at a much larger figure.—Ex.

PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY.

By R. C. Baker

Parents and guardians, I address myself especially to you. Occupying the same responsible position, and having the same tender and anxious feeling of solicitude for the little ones intrusted to my care, I may, perhaps, be pardoned for offering a few thoughts for our mutual consideration. Not that I feel myself competent to give advice, far from it, but I feel a deep interest in the topic before us, and would like to call the attention of others to the subject, whose judgment and experience would be valuable.

It is my solemn conviction, that parents in general among us, are remiss in their duty to their children. And here I would plead guilty with the rest. As infants, we treat them more like playthings, formed for our diversion, than human beings intrusted to our care, to be trained for life or death, to be saved or lost. We seem to forget many times that evil grows spontaneously, while the good needs constant care and cultivation to make it flourish. We should not aim merely at outward propriety of conduct; we should restrain and guide, but not crush the warm outgushings of the young heart. God forbid that home should be a prison to our children, that we should consider it beneath our dignity to interest ourselves in their little joys and sorrows, and thus bind them to our hearts. Home should be the dearest and most desirable place in the world to them, and the father and mother the dearest earthly friends.

Parents should so accommodate themselves to the limited capacities of their children, that they can be happy in their society. How often is the thirst for knowledge manifested by the inquisitive child, discouraged by fretful, impatient chidings! I have seen parents provoked by the lack of judgment and discrimination manifested by their children whose minds were uninformed. How much easier to hush them with a few impatient words than to stop and patiently explain the perplexing subject, and encourage them to use more wisdom another time. If our temporal affairs suffer a little neglect, I think it would be better than to altogether ignore the spiritual and intellectual wants of our children.

Mothers, the care of the house, and providing for physical necessities is not of more importance than the cultivation of our children’s higher natures. We call parents or guardians cruel who carelessly neglect the physical wants of their young charges, but are not we equally guilty when we starve the minds and souls of ours? Even upon the Sabbath we are many times too weary or too indolent to make the day both pleasant and profitable to the little ones.

If we were as anxious about the eternal welfare of our children, as we are careful and troubled about our earthly cares, what we shall eat and drink, and wherewithal we shall be clothed, I believe we would exert a more saving influence over them. May God awaken us to a sense of our responsibility, and while we restrain all evil habits and improprieties, may we impress their tender minds with a love of the true, the good, the pure, and their obligations to love and serve their Creator. May none of us feel that this is a matter of secondary importance. We cannot shift this responsibility upon ministers and teachers without imperiling our own souls, as well as the souls of our children. The practice of many mothers of sending their innocent children, at a very tender age, to school, to “get them out of the way,” and exposing them to that vast under-current of corruption which has deluged the land, before they have strength of mind to know good from evil, I consider most dangerous and culpable.

The mere theory of the truth will do us no good. It must be exemplified in our daily lives; and what holier, nobler work can we engage in than in laboring for the salvation of our offspring? Will not God hold us accountable if we neglect the precious trust? For one, I desire to double my diligence in this direction, and be more faithful and exemplary. As far as my experience goes, I can say, that when I enjoy most of the melting, subduing influence of the Spirit of God in my own heart, then I exert the strongest influence over my children.

I am convinced that religion or good sense cannot be scolded or thumped into children. Not that I am opposed to salutary correction when necessary, but let us see to it that we rule our own spirits. If we cannot govern ourselves, we are poorly qualified to govern others. I do not think chastisement should be administered for every trifling error. As God has been merciful and long-suffering to our many backslidings, our stubbornness and rebellion, so let us be merciful and compassionate, while we help them to overcome. Oh! that the lovely mind and character of Jesus might be so reflected in us, that our children might be constrained to love and choose the ways of virtue and truth.

R. C. BAKER.

Mackford, Wis.

European War-Clouds.

THE correspondent of the Philadelphia Morning Post, writes from Paris under date of February 2d, that this year must inevitably bring forth a general and fierce European war. Every country in Europe has long been dissatisfied to the utmost with its own and the general situation. The sudden and radical subversion of the economical laws, which for centuries governed the world, have dislocated the habits and interests of all classes, and led to discontent, material sufferings, and demoralization, which induces part of the people to think that a new territorial partition of the continent among the different races will result to the universal advantage. The rest of the people, the greatest number, are confident that a general revolution, whatever may be the geographical result, will give them the best opportunity for establishing the economical law henceforth, their favorite theme, the socialist dogma. So that, though divided as to the secret or avowed reasons for war and its ultimate consequences, all, high or low, rich or poor, capitalists or laborers, economists or socialists, join in a common and irresistible call for WAR.

France, where both people and rulers have been so deeply wounded in their pride and prestige for the last six years, is longing for the signal to advance to the Rhine; for it is very likely in the vicinity of that river that the European Gordian knot will be cut; and besides her ambition for glory and her desire to regain her natural frontiers, France, perhaps, more than any other power in Europe, is eager for war, because of the above-explained economical uneasiness. As for the Emperor, he seems certainly resolved to play the whole for the whole. If he succeeds in getting the Rhine, and assuming again the role of arbitrator of Europe, he will reach the goal that he has ever had before him; and he is bent upon gaining it, or falling gallantly and with the honors of war.

Prussia, drunk with glory since the day of Sadowa, is eager for a contest with France, not only for political purposes, but also to give the proof that the Prussian army is the first army in the world, and the Prussian generals the first generals. Behind Prussia, all Germany waits but a word from Berlin to rush toward the Rhine first, and the Danube soon after.

Russia, stronger than ever after the annihilation of Poland and the failure of the western scheme of conciliation between the Mohammedan and Christian populations of the Ottoman empire, will rise as a single man, with enthusiasm and confidence in her final success. She is ready to make all sacrifices to avenge her disasters in 1855, and to give the coup de grace to the “sick man,” whose succession is hers, (according to a religious and political faith,) from the Pruth to the Amour. Sustained, morally and materially, by all the Greco-slave populations of the Sultan’s dominions, numbering nearly two-thirds of the whole, the traditional Moscovian policy meets now with a chance that Russia would certainly not allow her government to throw away. But the emperor and his counselors share the resolution of the people to set up the St. Andrew’s cross upon the shores of the Bosphorus.

Austria—poor Austria! who is being day after day dismembered, and whose prestige was forever lost at Sadowa, has but one chance to recover part of her greatness and influence among nations, and that chance is war.—Ex.

Conceit

CONCEIT.—There is one thing worse than ignorance, and that is conceit. Of all intractable fools, an overwise man is the worst. You may cause idiots to philosophize; you may coax donkeys to forego thistle; but don't think of ever driving common sense into the head of a conceited person.

PATIENCE.

By Stephen Nelson Haskell

“Not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience.” Rom. v, 3.

Patience is an admirable trait of character. All admire it. Meekness, which much resembles it, is said to be in the sight of God of great price. 1 Pet. iii, 4. In Christian experience patience is a very essential thing. The apostle in Romans v, places it at the head of the Christian graces. Then how important that we have a proper amount of that which will work for us patience; namely, tribulation. The apostle viewed it of so much importance as to exclaim, “We glory in tribulations,” for he knew it worked patience. Yet that tribulation in every one does not work patience is evident.

Tribulation comes from different causes, and works differently on different individuals. We may suffer tribulation which is brought upon ourselves by our wrongs. “For what glory is it if when ye be buffeted 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. With one it works fretfulness, wrath, and all manner of hateful feelings; with the other it works patience, meekness, gentleness, kindness, and every good feeling.

Now we want tribulation from the right source, and we want it to affect us in a right manner, if we would be benefited by it.

The receiving of the word of God led the disciples to occupy a position so different from the world, that the world hated them, and thus caused the tribulation. John xvi, 33; xvii, 8–11, 14. In James i, we read, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness, and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the ingrafted word which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass.” The 25th verse gives us a clue to what this word is: “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” Verses 21–25.

Now I would suggest, if any would have tribulation from a source that God can approve, that the commandments of God be strictly kept by them; and if they would be properly affected by it, keep also the faith of Jesus. Study his character and pattern after him. Then you will be of the number referred to in Rev. xiv, 12: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” And the promise of Rev. iii, 10, will be yours: “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth.” May the Lord pity and help us.

S. N. HASKELL.

THE MIND.

The mind has a certain vegetative power, which cannot be wholly idle. If it is not laid out and cultivated into a beautiful garden, it will of itself shoot up in weeds or flowers of a wild growth.

The Bright Side of Others

“MAN should know the bright side of his neighbor, but the dark side of himself.

Continue reading: THOUGHTS ON THE BOOK OF DANIEL