Signs of the Times, Vol. 14, No. 36. (9/14/1888)

Signs of the Times

Sep 14, 1888

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Sep 14, 1888

THE COUNCIL AT GIBEAH.

By Mrs. E. G. White

SAUL was greatly disappointed and enraged when it was discovered that David had left his place of refuge in the cave of Adullam. The king had made all possible preparation to come upon him as a vulture would come upon its prey, when lo! the intelligence was received that the object of his search had escaped from under his hand. His well-laid plans had been in vain, and he had again failed to accomplish his purpose of capturing David.

The flight of David was a matter of mystery to the king. He could account for it only by the belief that there had been traitors in the camp, who had informed the son of Jesse of his proximity and design. But the all-seeing eye was upon Saul; God, who was acquainted with all his thoughts and purposes, sent his prophet to warn his servant to escape from the hold, and flee into the land of Judah. David had heeded the message, and had found refuge in the forest of Hareth before Saul could come upon him. The fact that David was preserved, and that he escaped from time to time from his hand, while his own plottings had never met with success at any time, was a mystery to the king.

The monarch determined to take some decided action that would insure the ruin of David, and a royal council was held under a favorite tree on a hill-side of Gibeah. Saul held his spear and scepter in hand, while around him were gathered his councilors, among whom was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's herdsmen. With his mind filled with jealous suspicions, Saul addressed his officers of State, saying, "Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds; that all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that showeth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or showeth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?"

Saul appealed to the selfish nature of his men. He presented before them the advantages to be gained by serving him, in contrast with the disadvantages of the service of the poverty-stricken David, who was obliged to find his home in the caves and dens of the mountains. Satan and his evil angels were in that assembly, prepared to act a prominent part, and the power of these evil influences was working upon the mind of the willful and disobedient king. He had so long yielded himself to the control of evil angels that he did not discern that he was following their leading when he eagerly took advantage of circumstances to hold up to contempt the condition of David and his servants. How much this appeal to the selfish desires of his men, savors of the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. "And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them; for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will, I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

Jesus repulsed the tempter with, "It is written;" but the evil one has better success when he approaches man with his bribes and inducements. The question that each one of us will have to answer in his individual life is, Shall right triumph over wrong, no matter what shall be the cost? Every soul will have to venture much, as Satan plies his specious temptations; but the voice of duty must be obeyed, if you would be an overcomer. Many other voices will urge a course in harmony with the selfish desires and inclinations of the carnal heart. To every soul will come the time of trial, and it will need divine wisdom to distinguish the voice of the adversary from the voice of God. It is impossible to tell how much may be lost by once neglecting to comply with the requirements of the word of God. It points out the path of obedience as the only safe path for man to walk in. Nothing will help us more in these strait places than to consider that we are standing in the presence of God, and that we do not want to do anything that will offend him.

The Benjamites and those in the council of Saul, when they heard the words of the king, accusing them of sympathizing with those whom he regarded as his enemies, only saw before them an exasperated, human monarch, who had it in his power to enrich and advance them or to punish and degrade them, as their course should be approved or disapproved before him. But could the veil have been swept aside, they would have beheld the Sovereign whose empire is the universe, and who holds in his hands the destinies of time and of eternity. If they had felt that they were the servants of God, that they were to be obedient to the King of kings, how different would have been the result and record of that day which was filled with deeds of darkness and atrocity. The presence of the Infinite One was not felt; but he who is not only an accuser of the brethren, but a liar and a murderer from the beginning,

manifested his presence and power through his human agents, Saul the king of Israel, and Doeg the chief of his herdsmen.

Saul had received as truth every lying report concerning the motives and movements of David, and, in his disappointment at the escape of his supposed enemy, Saul began to suspect everyone around him of being a conspirator and traitor. He declared, "All of you have conspired against me, and there is none that showeth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse." Then he appealed for their sympathy. "There is none of you that is sorry for me, or showeth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day."

Saul represented David as one who was his deadly enemy, and accused Jonathan, his dutiful, and God-fearing son, of urging on the rebellion, because he would not join in the pursuit of his friend. This was an entirely false accusation. It was not David and Jonathan only who were accused, but the king's own tribe, and the people of his realm were all included in his suspicions as traitors and conspirators. He declared that they were all blind to their own best interests, and were destitute of compassion for him, the king of Israel. He had been informed by spies of the interview between David and Jonathan, of how they had entered into a covenant of eternal friendship; and, as Saul knew nothing of the particulars, he was filled with evil surmising as to their loyalty, and deemed that they were plotting against himself and his kingdom. At one time when Saul had furiously condemned David to death, and Jonathan had asked, "Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done?" the king, in a moment of intense anger, had hurled a javelin at his own son, as he had previously thrown one at David. Jonathan had lost all confidence in his father. He was afraid of him, and could not be free and confidential with him; for he saw with sorrow that God had departed from him, and that another spirit had taken possession of him.

That a conspiracy had been formed against him, Saul affirmed to his councilors as a settled fact, and he had arrived at the conclusion that it must be one that was thoroughly organized, or the chief conspirator would not have been so successful in eluding his search. From this he argued that the people must be involved in it, or its success would not be so evident. He put darkness for light, and light for darkness. His reasoning and its conclusions were all erroneous. The plotting was all on the side of Saul himself. Because he had changed his position from time to time, and had thought to have secured his prey long before, and had been defeated time and again, he could understand his failure only by attributing evil motives and actions to his people. Those who had been in communication with him, and had known of his plans, must, he thought, have informed David of his movements.

Saul had become so blinded through the deceitfulness of sin, that he could not discern spiritual things. He did not recognize the fact that God was present at all his councils, and that he was in communication with his servant David. God did not intend that the murderous designs of Saul should prove successful to accomplish their ends. The evil of the king's heart was to be manifested before Israel, that they might see to what terrible lengths a soul would go, after breaking away from the restraining influence of the Spirit of God. The king had had sufficient evidence to prove to him, beyond a doubt, that David had no evil intention toward him. He had had opportunity to take the life of his enemy, if he had desired to do so, but the son of Jesse would not lift up his hand against the Lord's anointed. But all this went for nothing, for it was in the heart of Saul to accredit evil purposes to David, and he did according to all that was in his heart.

There was a Watcher who was marking the motives, the words, and the actions of King Saul. The Lord was an unseen witness to every secret design, every open plan, and every murderous movement. When Nebuchadnezzar took his proud survey of the works of his hands, and boasted of his power and glory, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty"? the Watcher's voice came to the king, saying, "O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee." When Belshazzar lifted himself up against the God of Heaven, and made a great feast, and, in his intoxication and pleasure, deemed nothing too sacred for his use, making merriment against the living and the true God, a bloodless hand traced upon the wall in living characters, "Thou are weighed in the balances and art found wanting." At the sacrilegious feast of Belshazzar, there was a Watcher whom he had not invited, and whose presence he had not discerned or welcomed. The doom of his kingdom was written in an unchangeable decree, "God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it."

The eye of the Lord is upon every scene. His eye beholds every transaction in business. He hears every word that is spoken. He is a silent witness to every slanderous statement, and every falsehood is faithfully recorded in the books of Heaven. We have an attendant in public and private life. We have a companion in our private chamber. To every word and action of our lives, the holy, sin-hating God stands as a witness. We cannot escape our accountability to him, for God is everywhere. Why should we not live in such a manner that we may render up our account with joy, and not with grief. God has given us our appointed work, and we are to do it under his direction. If we place our powers under the control of Satan, we are rebels against God, and there will be found in our life-records, as there was found in Belshazzar's, a fatal deficiency when the accounts are balanced.

PEACEABLE FRUIT.

By Frances R. Havergal

"Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness." Heb. 12:11.

WHAT shall thine "afterward" be, O Lord, For this dark and suffering night? Father, what shall thine "afterward" be? Hast thou a morning of joy for me, And a new and joyous light?

What shall thine "afterward" be, O Lord, For the moan that I cannot stay? Wilt thou turn it to some new song of praise, Sweeter than sorrowless heart could raise, When the night hath passed away?

What shall thine "afterward" be, O Lord, For this helplessness of pain? A clearer view of my home above, Of my Father's strength and my Father's love? Shall this be my lasting gain?

What shall thine "afterward" be, O Lord? How long must thy child endure? Thou knowest! 'tis well that I know it not! Thine "afterward" cometh, I cannot tell what, But I know that thy word is sure.

What shall thine "afterward" be, O Lord? I wonder, and wait to see (While to thy chastening hand I bow), What "peaceable fruit" may be ripening now, Ripening fast for me! —Frances R. Havergal, in Illustrated Christian Weekly.

THE SEAL OF THE LAW.

By R. F. Cottrell

“BIND up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.” Isa. 8:16. This prophetic command is to have its fulfillment in the time of waiting for the return of the Lord, and of looking for him. The next verse says, “And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.” An apostle says, “Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Heb. 9:28. It is when the people of God are looking for this second coming, and last-day Spiritualists are saying, “Seek unto them that have familiar spirits” (Isa. 8:19), that the testimony is to be bound up, and the law sealed among the disciples. This is evidently the work of the last message from Heaven before the day of wrath, the fearful warning of Rev. 14:9-12.

The testimony and the law in the text are one. By pleonasm the same thought is repeated in other words for the sake of emphasis. That the two are identical is seen in verse 20, where they are represented in the singular number. “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” The testimony is that law of ten commandments which was placed in the “ark of the testimony,” being written on two tables of stone. See Ex. 25:16; 31:18.

This testimony has been broken, and must be bound up. The seal has been taken from this law, and it must be restored to the true disciples of the Lord. And it is the Papal church that has thus tampered with and mutilated the divine law. Her leading men teach as follows: “The church, by virtue of the power she has received from Christ, abolished the Jewish Sabbath, and substituted Sunday in its stead.” “During the old law, Saturday was the day sanctified; but the Church . . . has substituted Sunday for Saturday.” A Roman bishop at Belfast, Ireland, recently said, speaking of this change, “We, the church, did that astonishing feat.” And the mass of the Protestants of to-day hold that the Sabbath of the law has been abolished, or changed to another day, and that to commemorate another event than the creation,—an event which, to their minds, seems to eclipse the work of the Creator.

This mutilation of the perfect law of God is the reason why the testimony must be bound up, the law sealed. This reason did not exist before the apostasy of this dispensation; even down to the present day the Jews hold the ten commandments as the perfect and immutable law of God. However much they have transgressed, they have never changed the decalogue. It was after the “falling away” in the Christian church, which resulted in the great apostasy, and the development of “the man of sin,” that it ever entered the human mind that men had the power to change the law of God; therefore the command to bind up and seal can apply nowhere else but to these last days. The command is prophetic; it is a prophecy

that such a work will be done at the proper time; and at the present time we see it being done by the actual preaching of the Third Angel’s Message, the final warning against the worship of the beast and his image. Rev. 14:9-12.

The law has been mutilated by taking away its seal. The seal is that which marks a law as genuine, and thus gives it authority. Every man having the right to command must have a mark or token of his authority. Should the President of the United States issue an order, and simply sign his name to it, it would be of no force. His name alone is not sufficient to enforce obedience; it must be accompanied with his title of office—“President of the United States.” This tells who he is, and shows the extent of his jurisdiction. His right to command extends throughout the United States, and no farther.

Now there is something connected with the law of God precisely analogous to this. As there may be many men in the United States bearing the President’s name, from whom he must be distinguished by his title of office, so “there are many that are called gods,” from whom the true and living God must be distinguished. In the Sabbath precept, and that alone of the entire decalogue, we find that which distinguishes the Creator from all “the gods that have not made the heavens and the earth.” Jer. 10:11. The seal of the “living God” is the fact that he is the Creator of all things. This fact is stated in the Sabbath commandment, and in no other of the entire law. The reason for the giving of this commandment is, “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Ex. 20:11. Take this from the law, and there is nothing left to show who is the giver of it. It might be some other god. But in this he reveals himself as Creator; and being the Creator of all things, he has a right to rule, a right co-extensive with the universe which he has created.

The great Papal apostasy corrupted the word of God by removing this seal from his law. To abolish the ancient and only weekly Sabbath of the Bible, and to substitute a memorial of another event in its stead, as the Roman Church claims to have done, is to leave the Creator and his memorial out of his law. Thus have men, to the extent of their power, robbed from the living God the seal of his law. For this reason is the prophetic command given, “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.” This is a prophecy that such a work would be done; and now we see it being done.

It is a remarkable, a truly wonderful thing, and would be utterly unaccountable, had not the prophecies foretold it, that now, after the church has slumbered for centuries apparently satisfied with a mutilated law and counterfeit Sabbath, a rival of that of the Creator, there should be in this latter half of the nineteenth century a general awakening all over the earth on this important subject, and people in almost every nation returning to the observance of the long down-trodden Sabbath of the Lord. There is no reasonable way to account for this fact but by recognizing the hand of God in the fulfillment of the prophecies of the restoration of his law in the last days. The promise of God is being fulfilled; the testimony is being bound up, the law is being sealed.

It is not some cunningly devised fable that is leading people of all nations to forsake the prevailing customs of their fellows, to suffer inconvenience, reproach, and persecution. It is the Spirit of God leading them back to his word, the only sure refuge in the stormy time that is just before us, the only secure covering in the day of wrath. “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. . . . His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” See Ps. 91.

R. F. COTTRELL.

The Good Heart and Eternity

"The good heart naturally allies itself with eternity."

LUTHER ON THE USE OF THE LAW.

(Concluded.)

It is no small matter then to understand rightly what the law is, and what is the true use and office thereof. And forasmuch as we teach these things both diligently and faithfully, we do thereby plainly testify that we reject not the law and works, as our adversaries do falsely accuse us; but we do altogether stablish the law, and require the works thereof, and we say that the law is good and profitable, but in his own proper use; which is, first, to bridle civil transgressions, and then to reveal and to increase spiritual transgressions. Wherefore the law is also a light, which showeth and revealeth, not the grace of God, not righteousness and life, but sin, death, the wrath and the judgment of God. For, as in the Mount Sinai the thundering, lightning, the thick and dark cloud, the hill

smoking and flaming, and all that terrible show, did not rejoice nor quicken the children of Israel, but terrified and astonished them, and showed how unable they were, with all their purity and holiness, to abide the majesty of God speaking to them out of the cloud; even so the law, when it is in his true use, doth nothing else but reveal sin, engender wrath, accuse and terrify men, so that it bringeth them to the very brink of desperation. This is the proper use of the law, and here it hath an end, and it ought to go no further.

Contrariwise, the gospel is a light which lighteneth, quickeneth, comforteth, and raiseth up fearful consciences. For it showeth that God for Christ's sake is merciful unto sinners, yea, and to such as are most unworthy, if they believe that by his death they are delivered from the curse, that is to say, from sin and everlasting death, and that through his victory the blessing is freely given unto them; that is to say, grace, forgiveness of sins, righteousness, and everlasting life. Thus, putting a difference between the law and the gospel, we give to them both their own proper use and office. . . . For, unless the gospel be plainly discerned from the law, the true Christian doctrine cannot be kept sound and uncorrupt. Contrariwise, if this difference be well known, then is also the true manner of justification known, and then it is an easy matter to discern faith from works, Christ from Moses, and all politic works. For all things without Christ are the ministers of death for the punishment of the wicked.

Paul answereth to this question after this manner: "The law was added because of transgressions." That is to say, that transgressions might increase, and be more known and seen. And indeed so it cometh to pass. For when sin, death, the wrath and judgment of God, and hell, are revealed to a man through the law, it is impossible but that he should become impatient, murmur against God, and despise his will. For he cannot bear the judgment of God, his own death and damnation; and yet notwithstanding he cannot escape them. Here he must needs fall into the hatred of God, and blaspheme against God. Before, when he was out of temptation, he was a very holy man; he worshiped and praised God; he bowed his knee before God, and gave thanks as the Pharisee did. Luke 18. But now, when sin and death are revealed unto him, he wisheth that there was no God. The law, therefore, of itself, bringeth a special hatred of God. And thus sin is not only revealed and known by the law, but also is increased and stirred up by the law. Therefore Paul saith, "Sin, that it might appear to be sin, wrought death in me by that which was good, that sin might be out of measure sinful by the commandment." Rom. 7. There he entreateth of this effect of the law very largely.

Paul answereth therefore to this question, If the law do not justify, to what end then serveth it? Although, saith he, it justify not, yet is it very profitable and necessary. For, first, it civilly restraineth such as are carnal, rebellious, and obstinate. Moreover, it is a glass that showeth unto a man himself, that he is a sinner, guilty of death, and worthy of God's everlasting wrath and indignation. To what end serveth this humbling, this bruising and beating down by this hammer, the law I mean? To this end, that we may have an entrance unto grace. So then the law is a minister that prepareth the way unto grace. For God is the God of the humble, the miserable, the afflicted, the oppressed, and the desperate, and of those that are brought even to nothing; and his nature is to exalt the humble, to feed the hungry, to give sight to the blind, to comfort the miserable, the afflicted, the bruised and broken-hearted, to justify sinners, to quicken the dead, and to save the very desperate and damned. For he is an almighty Creator, making all things of nothing. Now that pernicious and pestilent opinion of man's own righteousness, which will not be a sinner, unclean, miserable, and damnable, but righteous and holy, suffereth not God to come to his own natural and proper work. Therefore God must needs take this maul in hand (the law I mean), to drive down, to beat in pieces, and to bring to nothing this beast, with her vain confidence, wisdom, righteousness, and power, that she may so learn at the length by her own misery and mischief, that she is utterly forlorn, lost, and damned. Here now, when the conscience is thus terrified with the law, then cometh the doctrine of the gospel and grace, which raiseth up and comforteth the same again, saying, Christ came into the world, not to break the bruised reed, nor to quench the smoking flax; but to preach the gospel of glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken and contrite heart, to preach forgiveness of sins to the captives, etc. Isa. 43:3; Matt. 12:20.

But here lieth all the difficulty of this matter, that when a man is terrified and cast down, he may be able to raise up himself again and say, Now I am bruised and afflicted enough. The time of the law hath tormented and vexed me sharply enough. Now is the time of grace; now is the time to hear Christ, out of whose mouth proceed the words of grace and life. Now is the time to see, not the smoking and burning Mount Sinai, but the Mount Moriah, where is the throne, the temple, the mercy-seat of God, that is to say, Christ, who is the King of righteousness and peace. There will I hearken what the Lord speaketh unto me, who speaketh nothing else but peace unto his people. . . .

So the law with his office helpeth by occasion to justification, in that it driveth a man to the promise of grace, and maketh the same sweet and comfortable unto him. Wherefore we do not abrogate the law, but we show the true office and use of the law, to wit, that it is a true and a profitable minister, which driveth a man to Christ. Therefore, after that the law hath humbled thee, terrified thee, and utterly beaten thee down so that now thou art at the very brink of desperation, see that thou learn how to use the law rightly. For the office and use of it is not only to reveal sin and the wrath of God, but also to drive men unto Christ. This use of the law the Holy Ghost only setteth forth in the gospel, where he witnesseth that God is present unto the afflicted and broken-hearted. Wherefore, if thou be bruised with this hammer, use not this bruising perversely, so that thou load thyself with more laws, but hear Christ saying, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you." Matt. 11:28. When the law so oppresseth thee that all things seem to be utterly desperate, and thereby driveth thee unto Christ to seek help and succor at his hands, then is the law in his true use; and, through the gospel, it helpeth to justification. And this is the best and most perfect use of the law.—Commentary on Galatians.

I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE.

By Robert Hare

BY ROBERT HARE.

I'LL be with thee, child of sorrows, With thee, through the changing years, Bearing burdens that oppress thee, Chasing doubts, dispelling fears, Till forever I can wipe away thy tears.

When the tempests round thee gather, Clouding all the way before, Harder lean, and through the darkness I will guide thee safely o'er Where the surges Shall assail thy bark no more.

When earth's gilded trophies vanish, And its riches flee away, I will give thee gold of Heaven, Gems that never can decay, All my treasures Shine throughout eternal day.

When the joys of friendship, passing, Leave thee sad, distressed, alone, I will cheer thee with a friendship Changeless as the deep unknown; For thy sadness And all pain it will atone.

When deserted, weak, and homeless, Jordan's billows rolling nigh, 'Neath my wings, my arms around thee, I will guide thee with mine eye To the resting In the brighter home on high.

New Zealand, August 2, 1888.

"SOCIAL GATHERINGS."

By C. L. Taylor

By the numerous fairs, mum-socials, grab-bags, festivals, crazy suppers, etc., which have entered into many of the churches, we are every day forcibly reminded of the fact that "Babylon is fallen." For years the Seventh-day Adventist Church has remonstrated against these practices, and no such entertainments have entered into its program. But while Satan cannot lead the remnant people of God to so openly violate the principles of right; while he cannot lead them to so openly show disrespect and irreverence for the house of God; he may influence them to indulge in something else which will, to a great extent, as effectually separate them from God and the love of his truth as those more gross practices already mentioned.

On the part of the young people of to-day there is a habit of holding frequent "social gatherings." The reason given for holding these gatherings is, as given by those who attend, "to benefit the young folks. We need to come together in order to get acquainted, and thus be able to help each other in the Christian life." Were this truly the motive which prompts those who plan these gatherings, all could say, Amen; go ahead; but it is to be feared that they are deceived in regard to the real motive. I believe that the power behind the scenes is one entirely different from that which they take it to be.

"By their fruits ye shall know them." In the first place, those who make it a business to attend, are generally those who are not the most "fervent in spirit, serving the Lord," but those who frequently absent themselves from religious meetings. The more they attend these parties the less they attend church, and the less they attend church the more they go to the parties. Here, then, is one evidence that the "social gathering" is destructive to spirituality.

Let us attend (in thought) one of these gatherings and see how they are conducted. Of course, as they are met together "to benefit" one another, we shall expect something of a sensible character on the list; but no; the whole program is a mass of foolish games and charades. Excitement runs high. Flirtation is ablaze; and many associations are formed which eventually result only in evil. At an hour when sensible people should be asleep (unless for good reasons they are denied the privilege), refreshments are served, and these usually of a nature to unfit, rather than preserve, the body as "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God." The conversation is nearly all idle chitchat and wicked frivolity, unbecoming to a non-professor, let alone a Christian. Thirty or forty are present, remaining together several hours, and yet God is not once spoken about or hardly thought of.

I would not condemn the practice of the young people meeting together, provided such meetings are properly conducted, and God honored. It is good for boys and girls to associate together. They may meet and make the occasion one of refinement and elevation. "But," says one, "would you have us confine ourselves to the discussion, solely, of religious topics?" No, not wholly. There are many things that may profitably be considered which, while they are not religious, do not tend in the least to lightness and frivolity; but even these should not wholly exclude thoughts of the truth. There is pleasure in contemplating the joys of eternity. True happiness and true recreation, both mental and physical, are not found in disobedience to God's will. The highest type of rest and refreshment is that derived from spiritual things; therefore if the young people meet to benefit themselves, will they not, at least a part of the time, consider the truth?

As already said, the act of simply meeting together is not to be condemned; but all should condemn the spirit which characterizes the "social gathering" of the present day. The day of God is just before us; and to those living at this time the apostle James says: "Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord." Who will heed the admonition?

C. L. TAYLOR.

THE RESURRECTION OF THE SAINTS.

By Rev. E. P. Marvin

1. It will occur at the coming of the Lord: 1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thess. 4:16-18.

2. This is distinguished in Greek as a resurrection from among the wicked dead: Mark 12:25; Luke 20:35.

3. Disciples and priests who believed in a universal resurrection were puzzled by the teaching of this eclectic resurrection: Mark 9:9; Acts 4:1, 2.

4. Paul even coins a new word, nowhere else found in the New Testament, to express this "out-resurrection" from the dead: Phil. 3:11.

5. It is called "a better resurrection," and "the first resurrection:" Heb. 11:35; Rev. 20:5.

6. It is the time of recompense and crowning for the just who love His appearing: Luke 14:14; 2 Tim. 4:8.

7. Heaven's benediction rests on all who have a part in this first resurrection: Rev. 20:6; 1 Cor. 15:53-57.—Rev. E. P. Marvin.

The writing instrument, corresponding movements of the receiving pen, which is like the pen or pencil of the transmitting pen, and is held between two rods placed at right angles to each other. These rods convey the electrical current, which moves the pen up or down or horizontally, according as the transmitting pen is moved. Every movement of the latter is thus instantaneously and accurately reproduced by the former, though the two may be a thousand miles apart. But not only has the inventor made provision for thus moving the two pens synchronously: he has also provided an arrangement whereby the sender of the message is able, as he writes, to dot his i's and cross his t's, and to turn back, if he desires to do so, to make erasures or interlineations, and to move the paper at the receiving end, so that the message may be reproduced as it is first written, in successive lines, one below another.

"In short, whatever the writer of the message might do with a pen or pencil, without the aid of the electrical instruments and the connecting wire, he can by the aid of these do simultaneously at both ends of the wire, and so that the message received shall be as truly in his own handwriting as is the one sent; and it requires no more skill or previous training to wield the transmitting and receiving pen, than it does to wield the pen with which these words are written. Nor is this all. Not only will the telautograph exactly reproduce the written messages, it will also, with equal accuracy, reproduce the strokes and lines and nice shadings of the artist's pen or pencil. 'Our artist on the spot' may thus telautograph to his newspaper a complete and vivid picture of a railroad accident, a steamboat explosion, an Anarchistic riot, a military parade, or a political procession. The instant that he completes his picture in Chicago, for instance, that instant it is complete in the newspaper office in New York."

I MADE THAT MAN WHAT HE WAS.

SOME time ago a saloon keeper in Dover, Delaware, who patronized his own bar very liberally, stepped into a back room where men were at work about a pump in a well. The covering had been removed, and he approached to look down, but being very drunk, he pitched in head foremost. He had become so much of a bloat, by the use of strong drink, that it was impossible to extricate him in time to save his life.

There was great excitement in the town. Men and women who had never been inside his saloon before were the first to rush to the rescue, and offer sympathy to the bereaved family. As he was dragged from the well, and stretched out dead on the saloon floor, a wholesale liquor dealer from Philadelphia stepped in. After the first shock of finding one of his good customers dead, he turned to a prominent lady, and said, pointing to the wretched victim:—

"I made that man what he was. I lent him the first dollar, and set him up with his first stock of liquors, and now he is worth $10,000 or $15,000."

Looking him square in the face, she replied:—

"Yes, you did make that man what he was,—a drunkard, a bloat, a stench in the nostrils of society; and sent him headlong into eternity and a drunkard's hell! What is $15,000 weighed against a lost soul, a wasted life, a wife a widow, and children orphans?"

He turned deadly pale, and without a word left the house.

What is all the revenue to the millions whose homes are destroyed, whose children are beggared, and whose loved ones are sent headlong to a drunkard's grave?—The Christian Woman.

WHAT WAS LEFT FOR THE LITIGANT.

The following old story heard the other day illustrates how little may be gained by a lawsuit, even when it goes in favor of the plaintiff: One Jason Williams, of Petersham, while driving through the street, was thrown from his buggy—owing to some neglect of the authorities—and injured. His demand for damages not meeting with a response from the Selectmen, he secured the services of "old Squire Wetherell," of Barre, in his behalf, and, after the usual proceedings in such an affair, the trial resulted in a verdict of $50 for the plaintiff. Soon after this Mr. Williams called upon the squire for the bill.

"Fifty dollars, Mr. Williams, is my bill," said the squire.

"Fifty dollars!" exclaimed the surprised Jason; "fifty dollars! But what have I got?"

"Oh, you," said the lawyer, "why, you've got the case."—Boston Advertiser.

The Great Oil Pipe Line

THE great pipe line from Lima, O., to South Chicago, for the transportation of oil, consists of an eight-inch, wrought-iron pipe, 206 miles in length. It was constructed at a cost of $7,000 per mile. The oil will be forced to Chicago by means of powerful pumps at the Ohio end, and it will take three days to pass through the pipe. To fill the pipe will take 72,000 barrels of oil, and the line will have a capacity of 1,000 barrels, or about 40,000 gallons per hour.—Selected.

DON'T SMOKE.

By Editor

DON'T smoke any more, my friend; you can always hire a Chinaman to do all that kind of dirty work, and he can do it better than you, and stay out with the pigs, and you can go in the house among clean people.

There are tobacco-using men by the hundred in California who are daily committing cruel outrages upon their own and other people's children. When the little innocents are sleeping, these ignorant men are filling the room with their noxious smoke, poisoning every breath they inhale, implanting seeds of disease and death, which are murderous in their tendency and inflict curses upon them which last through life. When the children are up and awake they are subject to the same cruelties; and when one after another of the helpless little ones half murdered in this way falls a victim to some disease that would not endanger the life of a healthy child, and is carried out to its little grave, its parents wonder why the Lord "has seen fit to deal so hardly with them," and they go on and kill another the same way. There are parents who sin in ignorance and recklessness in this way, who would commit a less cruelty if they killed their children at once with a dose of laudanum.—The Rescue.

All very good except the slur upon the poor Chinaman, who is not so addicted to smoking and drinking as his more highly civilized neighbor. John is a bad opium smoker, but that habit might have been eradicated from China if her Christian (?) neighbors had not compelled the introduction of opium into the flowery kingdom. In the Great Assize which is coming, we fear the "Melican man" will not so far outweigh "the heathen Chinee" as he now thinks.

Continue reading: A STORY FOR MODERATE DRINKERS