Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Feb 22, 1883
General Articles.
By Ellen G. White
Aid for the Tempted.
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
WHEN Adam was assailed by the tempter in Eden, he was without the taint of sin. He stood before God in the strength of perfect manhood. All the organs and faculties of his being were equally developed, and harmoniously balanced.
Christ, in the wilderness of temptation, stood in Adam's place to bear the test he failed to endure. Here Christ overcame in the sinner's behalf, four thousand years after Adam turned his back upon the light of his home. Separated from the presence of God, the human family had been departing, each successive generation, farther from the original purity, wisdom, and knowledge, which Adam possessed in Eden. Christ bore the sins and infirmities of the race as they existed when he came to the earth to help man. In behalf of the race, with the weaknesses of fallen man upon him, he was to stand the temptations of Satan upon all points on which man could be assailed.
Adam was surrounded with everything his heart could wish. Every want was supplied. There was no sin, and no signs of decay in glorious Eden. Angels of God conversed freely and lovingly with the holy pair. The happy songsters carolled forth their free, joyous songs of praise to their Creator. The peaceful beasts in happy innocence played around Adam and Eve, obedient to their word. Adam was in the perfection of manhood, the noblest of the Creator's works. He was in the image of God, but a little lower than the angels.
What a contrast the second Adam presented as he entered the gloomy wilderness to cope with Satan single-handed. Since the fall, the race had been decreasing in size and physical strength, and sinking lower in the scale of moral worth, up to the period of Christ's advent to the earth. In order to elevate fallen man, Christ must reach him where he was. He took human nature, and bore the infirmities and degeneracy of the race. He who knew no sin became sin for us. He humiliated himself to the lowest depths of human woe, that he might be qualified to reach man, and bring him up from the degradation in which sin had plunged him.
"For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."
"And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him."
"Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren; that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted."
"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
Satan had been at war with the government of God, since he first rebelled. His success in tempting Adam and Eve in Eden, and introducing sin into the world, had emboldened this arch foe; and he had proudly boasted to the heavenly angels that when Christ should appear, taking man's nature, he would be weaker than himself, and that he would overcome him by his power. He exulted that Adam and Eve in Eden could not resist his insinuations when he appealed to their appetite. The inhabitants of the Old World he overcame in the same manner, through the indulgence of lustful appetite and corrupt passions. Through the gratification of appetite, he had overthrown the Israelites. He boasted that the Son of God himself, who was with Moses and Joshua, was not able to resist his power, and lead the favored people of his choice to Canaan; for nearly all who left Egypt died in the wilderness; also, that he had tempted the meek man, Moses, to take to himself glory which God claimed. David and Solomon, who had been especially favored of God, he had induced, through the indulgence of appetite and passion, to incur God's displeasure. And he boasted that he could yet succeed in thwarting the purpose of God in the salvation of man through Jesus Christ.
In the wilderness of temptation, Christ was without food forty days. Moses had, on especial occasions, been thus long without food. But he felt not the pangs of hunger. He was not tempted and harassed by a vile and powerful foe, as was the Son of God. He was elevated above the human, and especially sustained by the glory of God which enshrouded him.
Satan had succeeded so well in deceiving the angels of God, and in ruining noble Adam, that he thought he should be successful in overcoming Christ in his humiliation. He looked with pleased exultation upon the result of his temptations, and the increase of sin in the continued transgression of God's law, for more than four thousand years. He had worked the ruin of our first parents, and brought sin and death into the world, and led to ruin multitudes of all ages, countries, and classes. By his power he had controlled cities and nations, until their sin provoked the wrath of God to destroy them by fire, water, earthquakes, sword, famine, and pestilence. By his subtlety and untiring efforts, he had controlled the appetite, and excited and strengthened the passions, to so fearful a degree that he had defaced, and almost obliterated, the image of God in man. His physical and moral dignity were in so great a degree destroyed that he bore but a faint resemblance in character, and noble perfection of form, to the dignified Adam in Eden.
At the first advent of Christ, Satan had brought man down from his original, exalted purity, and had dimmed that golden character with sin. The man whom God had created a sovereign in Eden, he had transformed into a slave in the earth groaning under the curse of sin. The halo of glory, which God had given holy Adam to cover him as a garment, departed from him after his transgression. The light of God's glory could not cover disobedience and sin. In the place of health and plenitude of blessings, poverty, sickness, and suffering of every type, were to be the portion of the children of Adam.
Satan had, through his seductive power, led men to vain philosophy, to question, and finally disbelieve, the divine revelation, and the existence of God. He looked abroad upon a world of moral wretchedness, and a race exposed to the wrath of a sin-avenging God, with fiendish triumph that he had been so successful in darkening the pathway of so many, and had led them to transgress the law of God. He clothed sin with pleasing attractions, to secure the ruin of many.
But his most successful scheme in deceiving man has been to conceal his real purposes and his true character, by representing himself to be man's friend—a benefactor of the race. He flatters men with the pleasing fable that there is no rebellious foe, no deadly enemy that they need to guard against, and that the existence of a personal devil is all a fiction; and while he thus hides his existence, he is gathering thousands under his control. He is deceiving many, as he tried to deceive Christ, telling them that he is an angel from Heaven, doing a good work for humanity. And the masses are so blinded by sin that they cannot discern the devices of Satan, and they honor him as they would a heavenly angel while he is working their eternal ruin.
Christ had entered the world as Satan's destroyer, and the Redeemer of the captives bound by his power. He would leave an example in his own victorious life for man to follow, and thus overcome the temptations of Satan. As soon as Christ entered the wilderness of temptation, his visage changed. The glory and splendor which were reflected from the throne of God and his countenance, when the heavens opened before him, and the Father's voice acknowledged him as his Son in whom he was well pleased, were now gone. The weight of the sins of the world was pressing his soul, and his countenance expressed unutterable sorrow, a depth of anguish that fallen man had never realized. He felt the overwhelming tide of woe that deluged the world. He realized the strength of indulged appetite and unholy passions, which controlled the world, and had brought upon man inexpressible suffering. The indulgence of appetite had been increasing and strengthening with every successive generation since Adam's transgression, until the race was so feeble in moral power that they could not overcome in their own strength. Christ, in behalf of the race, was to overcome appetite, by standing the most powerful test upon this point. He was to tread the path of temptation alone, and there must be none to help him—none to comfort or uphold him. Alone he was to wrestle with the powers of darkness.
As in his human strength man could not resist the power of Satan's temptations, Jesus volunteered to undertake the work, and to bear the burden for man, and overcome the power of appetite in his behalf. In man's behalf, he must show self-denial, perseverance, and firmness of principle, paramount to the gnawing pangs of hunger. He must show a power of control stronger than hunger and even death.
When Christ bore the test of temptation upon the point of appetite, he did not stand in beautiful Eden, as did Adam, with the light and love of God seen in everything his eyes rested upon; but he was in a barren, desolate wilderness, surrounded with wild beasts. Everything around him was repulsive. With these surroundings, he fasted forty days and forty nights, "and in those days he did eat nothing." He was emaciated through long fasting, and felt the keenest sense of hunger. His visage was indeed marred more than the sons of men.
Christ thus entered upon his life of conflict to overcome the mighty foe, in bearing the very test which Adam failed to endure, that, through successful conflict, he might break the power of Satan, and redeem the race from the disgrace of the fall.
All was lost when Adam yielded to the power of appetite. The Redeemer, in whom both the human and the divine were united, stood in Adam's place, and endured a terrible fast of nearly six weeks. The length of this fast is the strongest evidence of the great sinfulness of debased appetite, and the power it has upon the human family.
The humanity of Christ reached to the very depths of human wretchedness, and identified itself with the weaknesses and necessities of fallen man, while his divine nature grasped the Eternal. His work in bearing the guilt of man's transgression was not to give him license to continue to violate the law of God; for transgression made man a debtor to the law, and Christ himself was paying this debt by his own suffering. The trials and sufferings of Christ were to impress man with a sense of his great sin in breaking the law of God, and to bring him to repentance and obedience to that law, and through obedience to acceptance with God. He would impute his righteousness to man, and so raise him in moral value with God that his efforts to keep the divine law would be acceptable.
THE LORD IS COMING.
The light of His coming is flashing afar,
The rising and glory of Bethlehem's star;
The heavens receive Him no longer from sight,
Descending, encompassed with seraphim bright.
He comes! lo, He comes for the harvest of earth!
The gems of His crown are bright jewels of worth;
And the mantle of death is folded away,
And the faithful of ages are born in a day.
Hail, land of the Orient, lift up thy head!
The just One has come; the destroyer has fled!
The hills of Judea with gladness rejoice,
And the trees clap their hands at the sound of His voice.
Thy tribute to strangers no longer must yield,
Nor the place of His throne be plowed as a field;
But the city of God arise on its height,
And the saved of the nations shall walk in its light.
Behold the despised and crucified One,
Once led to the cross, now ascending the throne!
And the kings of the earth cast their crowns at His feet,
And the hosts of the Heavens His praises repeat.
Rejoice, O ye faithful! the circling of years
Has hastened His coming to dry up your tears;
The sweet fields of Eden again are restored,
The kingdom of Jesus—Rejoice in the Lord.
—Selected.
Christ's Coming at the Judgment.
By Bishop Merrill
We have seen already, that his coming in glory is personal and visible; that it is for the purpose of raising the dead; that it is at the "end of the world;" and now, if it shall appear that it is also for the purpose of gathering the nations before his Judgment seat, and officially announcing their destiny, we shall have reached a point where speculation and theorizing ought to cease, and where humble Christian faith should recognize the coming of Christ as the one grand event which is to terminate the history of this world, reveal the final outcome of all human probation, and introduce the unchangeable realities of the world of retribution.
A preliminary fact ought to be settled before we proceed. It is that rewards and punishments are to be distributed according to the works of men, at the day of Judgment, and at that time only. This is a fundamental fact. It underlies all right conceptions of probation and retribution, and stands out clearly in the holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. "For God shall bring every work into Judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil." "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of Judgment." In Rom. 2:5-16, the fact and time of the rewards are set forth, so as to show that retribution follows the day of Judgment. In quoting, the parenthesis is omitted. "But, after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds—in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel." The day of rewards and punishments is the day of Judgment. To the same point is the following: "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at naught thy brother? for we shall all stand before the Judgment-seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." (Rom. 14:10-12.) Read this in connection with 2 Cor. 5:10: "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." This brings out the whole proposition. When men appear before the Judgment-seat of Christ, and receive at the Lord's hands according to their deeds, that is the day of Judgment, when we shall all give account of ourselves unto God. Then, if it shall turn out that a work of rewarding men according to their deeds takes place at Christ's second coming, with the angels, when he descends to raise the dead, the point before us will be fully sustained; namely, that his coming is to judge the world, as well as to raise the dead.
In support of this proposition we refer to Matt. 16:27: "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." This coming with the angels is not a figurative coming, as it hath been shown; nor is it the spiritual coming in the kingdom, of which mention is made in the succeeding verse. It is a full, distinct, comprehensive statement of his personal coming in the glory of the Father, with the angels, and so complete that it requires no elucidation to show its bearing on the point in hand. It settles the fact beyond all controversy, that his personal coming is the time of retribution—the time of the Judgment. There is but one period for appearing before the Judgment-seat of Christ, and but one object. It is to receive according to the deeds done in the body, which occurs once for all, and when it occurs, that is the day of Judgment. The date is unrevealed, that it is fact is most unequivocally stated, that it will be at the second coming of Christ. "Then he shall reward every man according to his works."
We also cite Mark 8:38: "Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels." The parallel passage is Luke 9:26: "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels." The connection of these passages is the same as that in Matthew, where it is affirmed that "then he shall reward every man according to his works." The allusion is unquestionably to his personal coming, and to the Judgment. To be "ashamed" of men, in his coming, is more than to feel an inward emotion with reference to them. It means a positive, open, judicial rejection of them. Thus we read in Matt. 10:32, 33: "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him wil' I confess also before my Father which is in Heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in Heaven." And also in Luke 12:8, 9: "Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God. But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God." This act of confessing men before the Father and before the angels of God is an act that belongs to the period of his coming in glory; and the act of denying those that denied him before men belongs to the same period, and is the same as that expressed above, when he says he will be "ashamed" of them "when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels." It must be, therefore, that the day of his coming in glory with the angels is the day of Judgment, when he "shall reward every man according to his works."
Passing over, in this place, the parables of the tares and wheat, and the net with the fishes, which confirm this view; and, also, the testimony of the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth chapters of Matthew, which bear upon the subject, we turn to 1 Cor. 4:3-5: "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified; but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall every man have praise of God." The evidence this passage brings is somewhat indirect, yet not in the least ambiguous. The apostle reproves men for judging one another, and possibly alludes to criticisms which had been made upon his own conduct. He appeals from the judgments of men to the Judgment of God, and incidentally mentions the coming of the Lord as the time of the final Judgment, when that is hidden shall be revealed, and every man shall have his just award. He himself could afford to wait for the vindication which that day would surely bring, and he would have all Christian people do the same. Hence his appeal, "Therefore, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come." There can be no doubt that this language was written by the apostle Paul under the full persuasion that the coming of the Lord was to be the day of Judgment. It is impossible to understand his appeal on any other hypothesis. But not only does this appeal prove the point by clearly recognizing the coming of the Lord as "the time" of Judgment, but the work attributed to the Lord, at his coming, is the appropriate and distinguishing work of the Judgment-day. "Until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts." This is pre-eminently the work of the Lord in the day of Judgment. It is then that he will "bring every work into Judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil." It is then that "God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ." It is then that "we must all appear before the Judgment-seat Christ, that every one may receive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." It is then that "the books will be opened," and every one be "judged out of those things which are written in the books." It is then that "every one of us shall give account of himself to God." That is a day of revelation—a day of disclosure—a day of bringing to light the hidden things of darkness. No secrets shall evade the scrutiny of the Judge; no counsels lurking in the hearts of men shall pass the day of the Lord's coming without being made manifest. How, then, is it possible to avoid the conclusion that when the Lord comes it is to judge the world in righteousness? —Second Coming of Christ, by Bishop Merrill.
How the Apostles Believed.
By E. P. Goodwin
How significant that not one of these men sent of the Spirit, ever thought of impugning the value of the word. Their witness was partly the witness of the Spirit, giving fresh revelations, or (as in the case of Paul) of truth from the life of Christ himself. But the bulk of their testimony was the Scriptures then in their hands. How significant now that they never discriminated between what fell from the lips of the Master at the right hand of God, what was given by the Spirit, and the written record of the word. In their thought the words of Moses and of David were all one with the words of the Spirit and the words of Jesus Christ. Even Paul, familiar with the science and literature of his time, familiar with the civilization of his day,—a civilization that, apart from Christianity, has never been paralleled in the history of the world,—even Paul in all the sweep of that classic learning, found not a fact of science, nor a teaching of philosophy, nor a sentiment of literature by which either to correct or enrich the testimony of the simple word that was in his hands. He accepts Moses, accepts David, accepts Jonah, and all the testimonies of these writers, from the first to the last. Nothing here of the allegory of creation, of the legend of the deluge, of the myth of Jonah and the whale. Nay, standing before a royal governor and a Jewish king, he goes back to the testimony that in our day is the most sneered at and despised of all, and planting himself there, says: "Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day witnessing both to the small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come, that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first who should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people and the Gentiles." And there stood they all. Not a man, or woman, or child of this missionary epoch ever dreamed of doubting the divine, infallible authority of the word of God. They would as soon have thought of doubting the stability of the eternal throne itself.
And this was not the mere blind assent of those on whose necks was an iron yoke they could not throw off. It was an intelligent belief, and a belief with a profound purpose. These men knew that if they were to command men they must speak with the authority of God. And that is the only ground upon which any witness for the truth in any age can appeal to men.—Rev. E. P. Goodwin.
Judgment Beyond Oneself
He hath a good judgment that relieth not wholly on his own.
Man and Animals.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
ONE notable fact in the make-up of man is that certain traits of character definitely marked in an individual, indicate the existence of certain other traits in the same person. For instance, the man who is cruel either to man or beast (and if he is cruel to one he surely will be to the other) is a coward. Mark it where you will; the man who has not a soul to be touched by suffering, even of the lowest of the brute creation, has not the courage to brave danger. I have had opportunity to observe this, and I know that the bravest soldiers have the tenderest hearts and are the most easily touched by the sufferings of man or beast. Adopt this rule in selecting men for their bravery, and you will never make a mistake. The cruel man is also mean, stingy, and selfish. My opportunity for observation in reference to this fact has not been so great, yet I am convinced from what I have observed that it is true.
Animals have a nervous system as regularly developed and as accurately adjusted as men. Many of them are as sensitive to pain as we are. Some animals show other than physical suffering when abused and ill-treated. A disposition to be cruel to animals has not been universal. Most men are inclined to treat animals in their care kindly; the opposite is the exception, and it is doubtless this fact that has caused such tardiness in making laws to restrain those of our race who have so little humanity in their make-up as not to be touched with the sufferings of others, either of their own race or of the brute creation. As the four-leafed clover is but a part of two sets of leaves of three each, and the twin apple should have been two perfect apples, so he who has a tendency to be cruel to animals is only a part of a man. He is devoid, in part at least, of a great soul element God has planted in our nature, not only for the protection of the helpless brute, but for the preservation of our own race. He is not guiltless, however, for the continuance of this natural defect; he is capable of cultivation, and grace has been provided by which he may be elevated to the standard of a perfect man.—D. B. W., in New York Tribune.
Sound Speech.
By Editor
We think that our readers will agree that the following paragraphs deserve the heading which we have given them. They are a portion of a letter addressed to a preacher; but all may read them with profit:—
In some of our churches, the divine knowledge of an apostle and the shining talents of an archangel cannot compensate for the lack of pliability, smooth speech, style, and the man-pleasing art. Do not take failure in the candidature of worldly churches with surprise or regret. The world knows its own, and the world's capital in such churches will have its own. Environed with difficulties; standing amid ruins, rejected by the great body of the professing church you may be, but still you should sink all personal and earthly considerations, encourage yourself in the Lord, and battle bravely for the great cause of all causes. God approves and rewards the men who “sigh and cry” for the abominations of Israel, and God condemns and punishes those who are “at ease in Zion.” Do not allow surrounding circumstances and relentless evils to give a somer coloring to your views. Look upward for light. There may be more faithful men than you suppose. Boastful apostles and conceited ecclesiastical demagogues, who flaunt their witty contempt for creeds and catechisms, glory in liberalism and show how Christians may be jolly, make the most noise and the greatest display.
Do not expect that preaching truth and righteousness will usually bring much pay. If you can by the closest economy “live by the gospel,” be satisfied. Bad men should not be asked to support the gospel, and you should not expect church members that are characterized by every word that defines a worldling and a formalist to pay you for condemning and troubling them. The churches want entertainment and amusement for themselves and for the world without. You are not the man for a lecture platform, club room, or play-house. More business is now done in church parlors than in the sanctuary. “The world” has money enough for its own pleasures but we must not beg it, nor try to win it by imitation amusements. Christ never expected the world to support his church. Actors, singers, and dancers are paid ten times as much as preachers. You are a “cheap preacher,” live cheap and be independent like John the Baptist. If he had lived on the court of Herod he could not have thus rebuked the sin of Herod, though he might have saved his head.
Keep out of the troubled and polluted politics of the world, as Christ, the apostles, and the early Christians did. You are called into another and a very different sphere. You have no instructions from Christ or the apostles for your guidance as a politician or an office-holder, simply because you are not expected to act in this sphere. You cannot reform the world, or enact the law of God and set up the Fifth Monarchy. You are not a legislator, judge, or executive of the world. The saints are in fellowship with a rejected Lord, and they cannot reign until he reigns. You cannot purify politics but it can pollute you. Bad men have controlling power and they will retain it until their “Prince” is dethroned. Do not worry about “our country.” Your “country is in Heaven.”—Rev. E. P. Marvin (Presbyterian).
Look Over It.
It is said that John Wesley was once walking along a road with a brother, who related to him his troubles, saying he did not know what he should do. They were at that moment passing a stone fence to a meadow, over which a cow was looking. "Do you know," said Wesley, "why the cow looks over that wall?" "No," replied the one in trouble. "I will tell you," said Wesley, "because she cannot look through it; and that is what you must do with your troubles: look over and above them."
Depend upon it, in the midst of all the science about the world and its ways, and all the ignorance of God and his greatness, the man or woman who can say, "Thy will be done," with the true heart of giving up, is nearer the secret of things than the geologist or theologian.—Geo. Mcdonald.
He Careth for You
“He careth for you.”
“The American Sabbath.”
By Wm. Penniman
BY WM. PENNIMAN.
SUCH is the title of a tract published by the American Tract Society. It will be seen by the following quotation from this work that the American Sabbath means the enforcement of the civil Sunday—
“The State should protect the Sabbath from injury; the church must teach and incite men to spiritual improvement during its sacred hours. For the State is no less responsible to God for the right discharge of its civil duties, than is the church for its spiritual functions. This view of the Sabbath, as to its origin, perpetuity, binding obligations, and infinite value to morals and religion, is a characteristic of our national life. ‘It enters,’ says the judicious Dr. Philip Schaff, ‘into the bone and sinews of American character. It is entrenched in our national habits, embodied in our creeds, and guarded by our civil legislation. It is an essential part of American Christianity and morality, and one of the strongest common bonds which unite the different Protestant denominations.’ The venerable French scholar, Duponceau, after long familiarity with America, made the remark, that by all we claimed as characteristic, our observance of the Sabbath is the only one truly national and American trait, and he trusted it would never lose its hold on our affections and patriotism. Is it strange, then, if we plead for the preservation of the holy day both in its civil relations and in its sacred character and spiritual power? Is it undue zeal that leads us to deprecate its disregard by our own people, or by those who come to make their home among us, or by those who come as transient and welcome visitors? Ought we not to guard with holy jealousy that which is so essential to us as a people?”
It can be seen by the preceding that this society (which is large and influential) are in earnest in this work, which is widening out to its completion and to the fulfilment of the prophecy. Rev. 13: 11-17. In the Advance of Jan. 25, 1883, we notice the following:—
“The Chicago Sabbath Association has issued an address making an appeal for the enforcement of the laws protecting the sanctity of the day of rest. It is not a tame, whining appeal either. It goes back to the first American Constitution adopted in 1620; refers to the Declaration of Independence; quotes the statute laws of the State, and the ordinances of the city. Then as an attorney who has a clear case with law and evidence enforcing all the claims of his client, the Association makes a strong demand for that which the law allows and says we shall have. The law quoted in the address will undoubtedly be news to very many who read it in the daily papers, and will serve to show how far we are from having our laws enforced by the powers that be. Rev. W. C. Welling, the president of the Association, is showing great activity and ability in bringing this question before the people, and we understand that he has secured the co-operation of most of the ministerial associations in the city. A public meeting will in all probability be called at an early day, when the organization will undoubtedly be much enlarged, and more thoroughly organized for effective work.”
There is no doubt that this “organization will be much enlarged,” not only in Chicago, but throughout the land, until the final object, the image of the beast, is accomplished. Perhaps the progress of this work will be checked for a time in other States as it has been in California, but the image will be made, and God’s people should rejoice that their redemption draweth nigh.
Influence of Pernicious Literature.
By Editor
ANTHONY COMSTOCK says of this class of reading that it has a more debasing influence than all other evils combined. In an article in the Homiletic Monthly, he says: "You editors don't know a millionth part of this terrible business of bad reading. A lad in Massachusetts wrecked a train because he had read of such 'glorious' work done by 'Road Agents.' Another boy, after such reading, quarreled with a playmate, and exclaiming tragically, 'Jim, this must be washed out in blood'! drew a revolver from his pocket and shot Jim dead. I could recite incidents like these all day. Those who have to do with crime know that I do not exaggerate the awful facts. A judge recently told me that half the criminals, men and women, are under twenty years of age. It's the bad reading that poisons a majority of the young criminals. That's the quickest moral poison in the world. . . . . I tell you that this deluge of pernicious and damning publications will drown the whole land unless you preachers help put a stop to it."
The preachers, many of them, are trying to put a stop to it; but since those interested in scattering this stuff are more numerous than the preachers, and, in many instances, are more active in their work, the prospect is not very encouraging. We believe that "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse," until the earth is ripe for destruction.
Discipline
By Richard Grant White
There was a very aged gentleman who, in my boyhood, visited often at my father's house. He had been a member of Parliament, which in his young days, implied even more social distinction than it does now. His manners were charming, and he was venerable in character as well as in years. He was very kind to me, and, boy as I was, treated me with never-failing courtesy. One day, when I fretted a little in his presence under the bonds of discipline, he laid his hand upon my shoulder and said: "Let me tell you a story of the great Dr. Parr. You know, of course, who he was; what a power he was in literature, in politics, and in the church. One day I dined in company with him, and he attracted much attention in his wig and his little black silk apron that he wore like a bishop. The conversation turned upon training in schools and colleges; and there was a self-sufficient young man at the table who made himself conspicuous by a disagreeable and noisy denunciation of discipline, as something that was calculated to break down a youth of spirit. Parr said nothing for awhile, but at last, taking advantage of a pause, he turned to the young man and said, in his lisping way: 'I'm not thurprithed, thir, at your objection to dithipline. Dithipline, thir, maketh the theolar; dithipline, thir, maketh the gentleman, and the lack of dithipline hath made you, thir—what you are.'"