A few Words with Eld. S. on the Sabbath.
By H. C. Crumb
DEAR BROTHER S.:—Permit me to address you at this time. Let us review our conversation that we had the other evening. I quoted the language of Paul as is recorded in Acts xxviii, 17, where he addressed the chief of the Jews. Paul said unto them, that he had committed nothing against the people, or customs of their fathers. I quoted this as proof that Paul did not neglect to keep the Sabbath, and that he did not keep First-day; for if he had done either, he would have done something against the customs of their fathers. If I recollect aright you stated that Paul did do something against the customs of their fathers; for Paul believed on Jesus, (had faith) and said (or implied) that they did not believe on Jesus, and you seemed to say that Paul could just as well have kept Sunday and said this, as to have believed (had faith) on Jesus, and said so. I do not think so: I do not so understand Paul; for Paul says, after preaching up faith, "Do we make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we (we, Christ's true preachers like Paul) establish the law." Do you establish the law, or do you make void the law through faith? (or a tradition of the fathers?) In this connection, will you please to read the following quotations, and see how every sentence, word and letter is placed. Matt. xv, 1-13. "Then came to Jesus Scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother: and he that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." "And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant which my Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." Did Christ's Heavenly Father plant this First-day keeping? if he did not plant it, if Christ's words be true, he will root it up; and if we cling to it with a strong grasp, where shall we be? Now would it not defile us [verses 10, 11] if we should say that God had not founded his covenant for ever? or that he would alter at least some of the words that have gone out of his lips? or that Christ had destroyed the law, or that one jot or one tittle of the law had failed, after reading Matthew v, 17-19? or that man had the power to make one of the Commandments to pass away, when he has not the power to make either heaven or earth pass away, when Christ has said that it is easier for heaven and earth (both) to pass, than for one tittle (least particle) of the law to fail. We might ask many questions, and in truth I should like to, but I will cut short by referring you to some passages, and your own good judgment will see the force of them. James ii, 10, 11. I do want to ask you what James would be likely to say to you? Would he not say, Now if thou do not kill, yet if thou break the Sabbath, thou art become a transgressor of the law; for he that said, (margin that law which said,) Do not kill, said also, Remember the Sabbath-day (yes, day) to keep it holy, &c. The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, (not of the Jews, as some reproachfully call it.) Again, you seemed to say that Paul regarded the Sabbath and circumcision alike. I understand Paul to teach very differently; for he says in 1 Cor. vii, 19, "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the Commandments of God." Rom. ii, 21. Says Paul, "Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? (I do not believe brother S., that you will steal.) But thou that preachest that a man shall not break the Sabbath, dost thou break the Sabbath? (I am afraid you do.) Would James give you any more liberty to break the Sabbath, than he would to steal? Paul said that by the law was the knowledge of sin. Paul said that he had not known sin, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet; so we can see that by God's law of Ten Commandments is the knowledge of sin; for sin is the transgression of the law. Where there is no law, there is no transgression; and where is there any law for keeping Sunday? So if you want to see sinners converted to God, if you have God's word you must declare it faithfully; for Paul said that he was alive without the law once; but when the Commandment came, sin revived, and he died. But thanks be to God that Paul lived after this to tell us many good things; but he did not live after the flesh, or after the carnal mind, but after the Spirit; so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in him. Says he, I delight in the law of God in, or after the inward man. Do you then of the abundance of the heart let the mouth speak? Paul said, (although the commandment came home to Paul and slew him,) that the law was holy, the commandment holy, just and good; yea, spiritual. Was then that which was holy, just and good, yea, spiritual, done away? Paul said, God forbid that he should do it away, even through faith. Do you do it away through faith? Has God given you more liberty than he did Paul? If not, the law says to you to-day, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," &c. "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God," &c. God has said so by his example, by his Word, and by a three-fold miracle; and said Christ, "The Sabbath was made for man." Was Adam not a man? are you not a man? Dare you come up and say to Christ, that God did not make the Sabbath for you? Again, you stated that the fourth Commandment did not specify any particular day, only one after six days of labor. But it reads to me, not a seventh day, but THE seventh day, the one on which God rested, at creation; yea, blessed and sanctified. If the fourth Commandment does not specify any particular day, in what language could it be specified? But after all this you said (if I recollect aright) that the seventh day was the right one to keep, if we could tell which day it was. You seemed to think that the time had been lost, so that we could not tell which the seventh day from creation was. Well, if you are in the dark on this subject, do not be leading others in the dark, or into the dark. Matt. xv, 14. Now if we keep the day that we think is the seventh day from the best knowledge that we can get, I believe that God will accept of it. But because we cannot count back to creation, and tell to a day how many days have intervened from the first day till now, to say that we will not keep the seventh day, would not be wise. When almost every body will agree when the first day comes, of course we can tell when the seventh day comes. Why did our translators of the Bible add a table after this manner: 1st day of the week, Sunday; 2d day, Monday; &c., 7th day or Sabbath, Saturday. If time had been lost before the children of Israel came out of Egypt, God in giving the manna would have corrected them; and what reason have we to suppose that time was lost from that time to Christ's time? But in case time had been lost before Christ's time, it would be undervaluing Christ, I think, to say that he would not have known it, and knowing, would not have corrected it. But yet I understand you to say, that in case time was lost when Jesus Christ came into this world, that you did not believe that Christ would have corrected them. But if time was lost, Christ must have known it, and not to have corrected them in it, would not only have been countenancing them in a wrong, but yielding to the wrong202himself. But this is too inconsistent for us to suppose even for one moment; for Christ said that he had kept his Father's Commandments, and one of them required the observance of the seventh day; and hence I can but conclude that the true seventh day from the creation was kept in Christ's time. As Christ told his disciples to pray that their flight be not on the Sabbath-day, they not only knew when the Sabbath came, but kept it also. And when Jerusalem was destroyed, the Jews were scattered among all nations, where they are monuments of the truth of God's word. They have carried the Sabbath with them, and do they not all agree as to time? Would they all be apt to make a mistake, and all make a mistake alike? Yes, and all the Gentile world too, if any mistake has been made; for almost the whole world will agree on this point. Now in conclusion give me an answer, a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear; and count me not as an enemy because I tell you the truth. Madison Co., N. Y., March, 1856. In God let all his saints rejoice,
With thankful heart and cheerful voice;
Thus saith his Word, so kind, so true,
"I, even I, will comfort you." Sweet words! O, let us bless his name,
And joyful all his praise proclaim;
These words shall foes and fears subdue,
"I, even I, will comfort you." Are you in darkness and distress?
Does Satan roar and break your peace?
Fear not, but till this truth review,
"I, even I, will comfort you." Do sore afflictions on you lay?
And pungent sorrows day by day?
Look to this word; t'will bear you through,
"I, even I, will comfort you." If death in gloomy form appear,
And overwhelm your souls with fear,
Let this sweet word your faith renew,
"I, even I, will comfort you." Thus while you sojourn here below,
As pilgrims in this world of woe,
Make this your song the journey through,
"I, even I, will comfort you." ON THE NATURE OF THE SOUL, THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD, AND THE FINAL DESTINY OF MAN.
FROM the Scriptures alone can we obtain satisfactory information concerning the nature of the soul. Reason may lead to conjecture, but reason alone cannot give us confidence. The wise men of antiquity have reasoned without the light of revelation, and remained in unhappy uncertainty. We are shut up to seek light from the Scriptures, shining as a light in a dark place. The first question that presents itself to our mind will be, Is the soul of man a conscious and intelligent existence, when separated from the body, immortal in its nature, and destined to exist for ever? My object in the brief thoughts on this subject will not be to examine all the isolated passages which appear to present objections to the views I shall present on this question; but to inquire what is the current testimony of Scripture; and this not so much to present all the evidence from the Scriptures that go to support my views on the subject, as to suggest trains of thought for others, as to what is truth on this subject. 1st. I should not think the soul of man an immortal, conscious, and intelligent existence, separate from the body, from the silence of the Scriptures on the subject. The Scriptures speak of the nature of man as plainly as they do of the nature of God; of his mortality, depravity, his perishing condition by nature, yet in this volume, written by Prophets and Apostles, recording the teachings of Christ, their own teaching and preaching to men of all classes and conditions—yet in all this volume composed by so many writers, under so many different circumstances, and discussing so many subjects, the soul's immortality is never stated as a fact plainly and explicitly, nor the subject discussed. This appears the more strange, supposing the writers to have believed the doctrine, from the fact that religious teachers in our day, who believe the doctrine, often discuss the subject; speak of the soul's immortality in most of their sermons and exhortations, so that no one who hears them, or reads their writings, is in the least doubt as to their real sentiments on the subject. 2d. I should not infer the doctrine of the soul's immortality from the terms used in the Scriptures in speaking of it. I shall examine but a few of the most prominent passages on this point, and refer the reader to "Bush on the Soul" for a full examination of this class of passages. The first mention of the soul is, "and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul," or a living creature. There is no intimation that what God breathed into man, had an intelligent, and conscious existence previous to its entrance into the body, or that it became such after its entrance into the body. But its entrance into the body made man a rational, and intelligent creature. The Scriptures call it the spirit, the life. By whatever name it is called, it is evidently nothing more nor less than the principle of life, which, before it entered the body, had no conscious, and intelligent existence; and after it leaves the body has no conscious and intelligent existence. But, united, makes a rational and accountable being. This is what Paul tells the Athenians, "seeing he giveth to all life and breath;" and that Jesus refers to when he says, "but are not able to kill the soul;" and that Solomon designates when he says, "the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." The breath of life, or the principle of life, that gift of God to man, returns to God who gave it; not as a rational and intelligent existence, but as the principle of life merely. Man cannot destroy it. As Paul says, "your life is hid with Christ in God." "When Christ who is our life shall appear," though our enemies kill this body, yet our life shall not be lost, but shall be restored to the body in its incorruptible state—"and then shall ye also appear with him in glory." "He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he who loseth his life for my sake shall find it." Though they kill your body, the principle of life shall return to God who gave it. And he shall restore it again, though apparently lost, to your incorruptible body; and thus shall you keep it unto life eternal. "For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul; or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" The question does not speak of the happiness of the soul, but of the soul itself, as a thing that may be lost, or hartered away. The previous verse calls it life: they mean the same thing. If the soul of man was immortal by nature, it could not be lost, or exchanged for something less valuable. 3d. From the punishment threatened to the ungodly, I should not infer its immortality, but its destruction and extinction. The first penalty held up to Adam previous to the fall was, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." This curse was, after the fall, explained to Adam: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." No intimation was given to Adam that he was to have an existence beyond the grave. The punishment threatened ended at the grave. Sorrow in life followed by death: "dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." The prospect held up before Adam, was that he should go back to the dust from whence he was taken, and God would take back the principle of life he had conditionally given to Adam. An extinction of being was the prospect before his mind. If Christ had not come as the resurrection and the life, there would have been no future existence for man. And until he was promised, there was no curse that reached beyond the grave. It is in this verse that as "in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." All lost their existence in Adam: all shall have it again in Christ restored to them. But there is a second death; and as there was an extinction of being in prospect before Adam which was only prevented by Christ's coming as the resurrection and the life, the second death will be an entire extinction of being—a destruction for which there is no remedy, being a destruction of both soul and body in hell. The principle of life will be destroyed, and there can be no resurrection from the second death. "I have set before you life and death"—"the soul that sinneth, it shall die." "For, behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." "When the wicked spring as grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they shall be destroyed for ever." David speaking by the Spirit, says, "Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul." "And gather his wheat into the garner, but will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Will the chaff remain burning yet unconsumed because it is burnt up with unquenchable fire? "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous unto life eternal." The punishment is the opposite of life eternal. What is the doom here threatened? Or what does this final, eternal, and everlasting punishment consist? Let the apostle Paul speak: "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." Is not God's glory, power, and presence in all parts of his universe?—then where will the wicked be after their destruction? They must be out of God's universe, or out of existence. "Vessels of wrath fitted to destruction," "Gather ye together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them." When burnt, do they not become extinct? "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy." Not his happiness only shall be destroyed, but himself. "Whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly." Not only their happiness is to have an end, but they are to have an end. The wicked will not rise with immortal bodies. Paul, referring to the resurrection, says, "He that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Here corruption, and life everlasting, are placed in contrast. Corruption is the opposite of immortality and incorruption. If the wicked are to reap corruption, they are not to be immortal nor incorruptible; "for corruption doth not inherit incorruption." All whose corruption puts on incorruption, and whose mortal puts on immortality, can sing, "death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" 4th. I should not suppose the soul to be immortal by nature, from the fact that eternal life, or immortality, is a conditional gift; both these terms express the same idea. God said of Adam in his fallen state, lest he "eat and live for ever." God called a wicked man's eternal existence, eternal life. These terms when applied to the righteous, always imply an eternal existence of blessedness. "I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever." "This is that bread which came down from heaven; he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever." "To them who by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and honor, and immortality; eternal life." Immortality is a thing to be sought for. This does not appear as though all were possessed of it. "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." If men by nature are immortal, will not those who do not God's will abide for ever, or remain for ever? "Who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel?" Immortality and life are brought to light, and no immortality but one of life. Death and immortality are no where brought to light through the gospel. 5th. The future existence of man is predicated on the resurrection of the dead, and not on the immortality of the soul. Christ says, "That I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." "That every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day." "No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day."
Paul says, "of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question." "Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead." The final judgment is here made to depend on the resurrection of the dead. "And have hope towards God . . . that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust." The resurrection is the Apostle's ground of hope. "If Christ be not raised, . . . then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." "If the dead rise not, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." The Apostle here makes the resurrection of the dead the ground of hope for future existence. "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others who have no hope." Why, because the soul is immortal. "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." "And the dead in Christ shall rise first." "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth." "Their works shall follow them."
This passage is not general in its application. The words "from henceforth" limit it to the specified time. "For the hour is coming in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection203of life, and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." I should suppose from such language that this was the opening scene of rewards and punishments. Of a similar character is all the language describing the resurrection and final judgment. "So shall it be at the end of the world, the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just." Who would suppose, from such language, that the mass of them had been separated previously? So in the parable of the sheep and goats; then shall he separate them and shall say, "come ye blessed," and "depart ye cursed." This certainly looks like the first and final separation; the opening scene of reward and punishment. When the Son of man shall come in the glory of the Father, THEN shall he reward every man according to his works. This confirms the previous inference of no reward till the coming of the Son of man. In Christ's interview with Mary and Martha, he did not attempt to comfort them as many would in our day, by describing the rapturous joys of a soul in heaven. No intimation of this kind was made. For with all their regrets at losing their brother, we cannot suppose they would consent to have him called from such scenes to the sorrows of earth again. But Christ comforted them by saying: "I am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live again. Martha says, 'I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.'" "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." We are not to see Christ as he is till his second appearing. "When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." We shall not appear with him in glory till his second appearing. And not only they, but "we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." We have the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. But the adoption itself does not take place till the body is redeemed. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." We are to be judged only for the deeds done in the body. Yet if the souls of wicked men possess a conscious and intelligent existence, some of them have been sinning for thousands of years. If the foregoing thoughts are correct, the redeemed will owe to the Lord Jesus Christ, not only their eternal felicity, but their eternal existence also. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord." "It cost him death to save our lives;
To buy our souls it cost his own;
And all the unknown joy he gives,
Were bought with agonies unknown." "But man dieth and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fall from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up; so man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Job xiv, 10–12. "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." Ps. cxlvi, 4. "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us to this day. For David is not ascended into the heavens." Acts ii, 29, 34.—Selected. Let us Return unto the Lord.
By William Miller
"‘Come, and let us return unto the Lord; for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us; in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord; his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.’—Hosea vi, 1-3" "The text to which I have directed your attention, in the above paragraph, is one of the richest and most interesting prophecies that was ever delivered to mortals by any prophet since the world began. Every word speaks, and is full of meaning; every sentence is a volume of instruction. No wisdom of man could communicate as much in as few words. It is a pearl of great price, lying deep in the waters of prophecy; it is a diamond, which will cut the film that covers the visual organ of the readers of God’s word; it is a gem in the mountain of God’s house, shining in the darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. It puzzled the Pharisee, confounded the Scribe, and perplexed the Sadducee. It has, and will continue to have the same influence on similar characters until the end of time. The great men of the earth will not stoop to its light, because it lies too low. The small men of the earth will not pick it up, for fear of ridicule from those above them. And now, dear reader, I am afraid you will go and do likewise,—either treat it with contempt or ridicule. But you will find, if you will examine, that in it is contained,—" "‘Come, let us return unto the Lord;’ and, ‘If we follow on to know the Lord.’ Here is the whole duty of man, as clearly described as any crystal could make it. Repent, believe, and obey, are clearly inculcated. What better words could an orator make use of, to excite the minds of men to noble deeds of daring, than are here used by the prophet? ‘Come’—he invites—‘let us’—he will go with them—‘return.’ Ah! what a word—‘return.’ Traveler, have you ever wandered far from home, in a cold, unfeeling world, among strangers, among robbers, enemies, thieves, and hard-hearted worldlings? Have you been sick, and weak, wounded and torn, spoiled and robbed, smitten and cheated, hated and reviled, and this, too, for days, months, or years? Have you at last ‘returned’ to your family, your friends, your native land? Do you remember those familiar objects, as you returned—the way, the mountain, the hill, the valley, and the plain; the grove, the tree, the house, and the brook? Do you remember the tree, the rock, the barberry-bush, the gate and the post, the doorway and latch? ‘O, yes,’ say you; ‘I remember, too, my beating and palpitating heart, and the falling tear which I stopped to wipe away from my blanched cheek, while my hand was on the latch. I remember how I listened to hear the loved ones breathe, although it was then in the dark watches of the night.’" "Thus tells the wanderer the tale of his ‘return;’ and in like manner could all the wandering sons of Zion speak of their ‘return.’ You, then, who have experienced these things, can realize the value of the word ‘return.’ And from my soul I pity the wanderer that never has returned ‘unto the Lord;’ to him that loved us, to him who died for us; more, vastly more, than mortal friends could ever do—he died. And so, say you, can fathers die for children, and mothers for their sons; children can give their lives, though rare the gift, to save the life of parents; husbands, and wives, and friends have fallen, to save each other from death. All this is true. But here is love greater than these; ‘for while we were enemies Christ died for us.’ Yes, more: he left his Father’s presence, his glory, and that heaven where Angels dwell; where he, the brightest star in all the upper world, stood highest; where seraphim and cherubim in glory cast down their crowns, and worshiped at his feet. ‘He became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich.’ Again: he bore our shame, and by his stripes we are healed. He was buffeted for our offences, and despised by mortals, for whom he suffered in the flesh. He rose from death for our justification, and ascended on high, to intercede for sinners, and has sent down his Spirit to bring us wanderers home." "‘For he hath torn.’ True, he suffers our sins to tear us, and those earthly powers, in whom we trust, to break our proud hearts, and, therefore, tears away our vain supports. He tears our affections from earthly things, that he may place them on a more enduring substance. He tears our hearts from idol gods, that he may place them on God supreme." "‘And he will heal us.’ Yes, he will heal us from all our backslidings, and love us freely for his own name’s sake. He will heal us from sin, by showing us its deadly nature. He will heal us from worldly affections, by placing our affections in heaven. He will heal our hearts of idolatry, by the taking possession of them himself. He will heal us from death, by the resurrection from the grave." "‘He hath smitten.’ God has so ordered, in his providence, that his children cannot have intercourse and association with men of the world, and with the kingdoms of this earth, but that persecution, or loss of Christian character, is sure to follow. The prophet is showing the present state of the church, while the tares and wheat are growing together. The children of God shall be smitten—meaning they shall be chastised, persecuted, ruled over. See the Roman power, from the days of their connection with the Jews until the present time, ruling over, persecuting, and trampling under foot the church of God. Our text is not only showing us our duty to God, but it teaches us the sufferings of the church, the dealings of God with her, and her final redemption; the first and second coming of her Lord; her final deliverance from death and all enemies, and her glorified reign." "‘And he will bind us up;’ which is a promise of God, that, although the church should be torn and smitten, yet he would heal them, and bind them up. In due time he would gather them into one fold; he would bind up all their wounds, and heal them of all their maladies. He would visit their transgressions with a rod, and their iniquities with stripes; but his loving kindness he would not take from them." A physician writes a communication to one of the religious journals in which he attributes this disease to a non-use of the vocal organs on week days and their double use on Sundays, to mental anxiety as to support, and to the use of tobacco. He recommends to the preacher to read aloud at least half an hour each day, to quit smoking and chewing; and on the membership he enjoins a more204liberal support of the ministry, as the only sensible way of curing the disease. Should the eye of any rest upon the above piece, who were engaged in the past Advent movement, but who have now gone back into the world and given up the blessed Hope, there is a return to which we would invite them. You remember how brightly the "candle of the Lord" has shone around his people in days gone by, and how their pathway was lighted up before them. That light was not a false light, nor has it yet become extinguished! but it has grown brighter and brighter upon the path of the just. To that light we invite you to return. You remember the faith that actuated believers in those days, when Wm. Miller himself was upon the stage of action, and the world was made to tremble before the power of truth, backed up as it was by a consistent example on the part of its advocates. Then faith and works agreed; and the world was impressed with the divinity of truth, and compelled to acknowledge the hand of God in the movement. To that faith we invite you to return. You remember the love that burned brightly in the hearts of the saints, both to God, and one to another, and the zeal with which they strove to arouse their fellow men to a knowledge of the truth. We invite you to return again to your first love. We would urge this upon you, because no promise that God has given us has failed. We mistook a prophecy and were disappointed. When that disappointment is explained, consistency requires, if we have the love of truth in us, that we still hold on. This disappointment is explained. Further light has made all clear; and the past, which the world blindly regard as an utter failure, and a standing refutation to all our claims, has not only become as clear as the noon-day, but even a mighty bulwark to our present position. The true watchmen are yet heard proclaiming "The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye; return, come." "Then shall we know," says the prophet, "if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning, and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.—Ed. It will require to meet the expenses of the Volume which closes with this number, $351.50. We have on our books thirty-eight who owe for Vols. VI, and VII, whose indebtedness amounts to $76. We have two-hundred and thirty-eight who have paid nothing on Vol. VII, amounting to $238. We have fifty-eight on the poor list who receive the paper at half price, leaving a deficiency of $29; and we have on the free list fifty-two, leaving $52 to be made up on this list by the liberal. Towards meeting the expenses of the Poor and Free list, we have received by donation $46.19, leaving yet due on this department of our expenses $34.81. At the price at which the REVIEW is now published, if we received full and prompt payment for all that are sent out, the paper would support itself; but as there are deficiencies like the above constantly accumulating, the Publishing Committee will look to the special friends of truth to see them met.