The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association was incorporated in Battle Creek, Mich., May 3, 1861. Its object is to issue “periodicals, books, tracts, documents, and other publications, calculated to impart instruction on Bible truth, especially the fulfillment of prophecy, the commandments of God, and the teachings of Jesus Christ.” Its capital stock is raised by shares at $10 each; and every shareholder is entitled to one vote in all the deliberations of the Association, for every share that he or she may hold. The Association has now a large and well-furnished Office of publication, established in Battle Creek, Mich., and employs two steam power presses in carrying on its business. A meeting of the stockholders is held each year, at which a board of trustees is elected to manage its business, and editors chosen to conduct its periodicals, till the ensuing meeting. All persons employed in the publishing department, are engaged at stipulated wages, and all profits accruing from the business, are strictly applied by the Association to the carrying out of the object of its formation, and to its charitable uses and purposes. All lovers of truth, who “keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus,” are still invited to take shares in the Association, and have a voice in all its deliberations.
The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald
Is a large sixteen-page religious family paper, issued weekly by the S. D. A. Pub. Association, and devoted to an earnest investigation of all Bible questions. It is designed to be an exponent of momentous and solemn truths pertaining to the present time, some of which are set forth by no other periodical in the land. The fulfillment of prophecy, the second personal advent of the Saviour as an event now near at hand, and mortality through Christ alone, a change of heart through the operation of the Holy Spirit, the observance of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, the divinity and mediatorial work of Christ, and the development of a holy character by obedience to the perfect and holy law of God, as embodied in the decalogue, are among its special themes. And while it will endeavor to present impartially both sides of all important questions, it has a definite theory to teach and hence will not devote its space to an indiscriminate and aimless mass of conflicting sentiments and views.
Regular price, $3.00 per year, or $1.50 for a volume of 26 numbers. On trial for six months $1.00. No subscriptions taken for less than six months. To the worthy poor—free, by their reporting themselves and requesting its continuance, once in six months. The friends of the Review are invited to earnest and unceasing efforts to extend its circulation.
The Youth's Instructor
Is a monthly sheet, published as above, and designed to be to the youth and children what the Review and Herald is to those of riper years. You who wish to see your children instructed in the great truths which so interest you, will here find a sheet in which these things are set forth in a plain and interesting manner, free from the popular fables and errors of the age. It should not only visit regularly every youth and child who professes to be a follower of Jesus, but should be taken and read in every Sabbath-keeping family. Don’t forget the children. See that they have the Instructor. Terms, 50 cts. per year in advance.
The Health Reformer.
This is the title of a monthly health journal, “devoted to an exposition of the laws of our being, and the application of those laws in the preservation of health and the treatment of disease.” It is an earnest advocate of the true philosophy of life, the only rational method of treating disease, and the best means of preserving health. Practical instructions will be given from month to month relative to water, air, light, food, sleep, rest, recreation, &c. Health, its recovery and preservation, is a subject of world-wide interest, whatever may be a person’s tenets in other respects; and to this the Reformer will be exclusively devoted. Edited by H. S. Lay, M. D., Managing Physician of the Health-Reform Institute. Terms $1.00 in advance for a volume of twelve numbers. Address Dr. H. S. Lay, Battle Creek, Mich.
The Sabbath Question
Is becoming a theme of wide-spread and absorbing interest. To those who wish to give the subject a thorough investigation, we recommend the History of the Sabbath. As a work setting forth a connected Bible view of the Sabbath question, its history since the143Christian era, and the different steps by which the human institution of the first day of the week has usurped the place of the Bible institution of the seventh day, it is unsurpassed by any publication extant. Between two and three hundred quotations from history are given, to each of which is appended a full reference to the authority from which it is taken. It is replete with facts and arguments which challenge denial or refutation. Other works on this subject, from the penny tract to the largest size pamphlet, will be found noticed in our book list. There is no other Bible subject upon which a more extensive misunderstanding exists, than upon the Sabbath question. Circulate the books, and spread abroad the light on this subject.
The Second Advent.
The works upon this important subject to which we would call especial attention, are, The Prophecy of Daniel, The Sanctuary and 2300 Days, and The Three Messages of Rev. xiv. The first gives an exposition of the plain and thrilling prophecies of Daniel ii, vii, and viii, showing from the course of empire that the God of Heaven is about to set up his kingdom. The Sanctuary question is the great central subject of the plan of salvation, and yet there are but few, comparatively, who have any acquaintance with it. It gives a new interest to a great part of the Bible, leads to an intelligent view of the position and work of Christ as our great High Priest in Heaven, completely explains the past Advent movement, and shows clearly our position in prophecy and the world’s history. The three messages bring to view present duty, and future peril. All should read these books, and ponder well their teaching.
Immortality through Christ Alone.
We call the special attention of the reader to the subjects of the nature of man, his condition in death, and the destiny of the wicked. More than ordinary importance attaches to these subjects, at the present time. We would confidently recommend to all a thorough reading of the work by H. H. Dobney entitled, Future Punishment, as advertised in our book list. The reader will find it a work exhaustive in its investigations, and remarkable for its candor, and the strength and clearness of its reasoning. Which? Mortal or Immortal? is a lower-priced and more-condensed work on the same subjects. While “The End of the Wicked,” and the one, two and three cent tracts may be found sufficient to awaken interest with those who would not commence with larger works.
Packages of Tracts.
For the convenience of those who may wish to purchase books for general circulation, we have put up assorted packages of tracts in two sizes, which we will send post-paid at 50c., and $1.00, respectively.
The 50c. package contains Sabbath Tracts Nos. 1, 2, and 3, End of Wicked, Mark of Beast, Sin of Witchcraft, Objections to Second Advent, answered, Death and Burial, Positive Institutions, Much in Little, Truth, Preach the Word, Law by Wesley, and Miscellany.
The $1.00 package contains The Three Messages, Which? Mortal or Immortal? Prophecy of Daniel, Saints’ Inheritance, Signs of Times, Seven Trumpets, Celestial R. R., Perpetuity of Spiritual Gifts, Scripture References, Wicked Dead, Sabbath by Elihu, Infidelity and Spiritualism, War and Sealing, Who Changed Sabbath, Seven Reasons for Sunday-keeping Examined, Institution of Sabbath, Thoughts for the Candid, Appeal to men of reason, Personality of God, Seven Seals, and Time Lost.
Those who order these packages, save their postage. We cannot too strongly urge upon all the circulation of our publications, books and papers. Many, now rejoicing in the truth, can attribute their first interest in these things to these silent preachers; while in some instances they have opened the way for the formation of well-established and flourishing churches.
Our Book List.
—THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION, a volume of 328 pages, containing the entire text of the book of Revelation, with Thoughts Critical and Practical on the same. A new and harmonious interpretation of the prophecy. Cloth, $1.00, weight 12 oz.
—THE HISTORY OF THE SABBATH, and First Day of the Week, showing the Bible Record of the Sabbath, and the manner in which it has been supplanted by the Heathen Festival of the Sun. pp. 342. Cloth, 80c., weight, 12 oz.
—FUTURE PUNISHMENT, by H. H. Dobney, a Baptist Minister of England. An elaborate argument on the destiny of the wicked; with an Appendix containing “The State of the Dead,” by John Milton. Cloth, 15c., 16 oz.
—SPIRITUAL GIFTS, VOL. I; or, the Great Controversy between the forces of Christ and Satan, as shown in Vision. pp. 219. Cloth, 50c., 8 oz.
—SPIRITUAL GIFTS, VOL. II; or the Experience and Views of E. G. White, with Incidents that have occurred in connection with the Third Angel’s Message. pp. 300. Cloth, 60c., 8 oz. Volumes I & II bound in one book, $1.00, 12 oz.
—SPIRITUAL GIFTS, VOL. III; or, Facts of Faith in connection with the history of holy Men of Old, as shown in Vision. pp. 304. Cloth, 60c., 8 oz.
—SPIRITUAL GIFTS, VOL. IV; or Facts of Faith continued, and Testimonies for the Church. pp. 220. Cloth, 60c., 8 oz.
—SABBATH READINGS; or, Moral and Religious Stories for the Young, from which the popular errors of the age are carefully excluded. pp. 400. In one volume, cloth, 60c., 8 oz. In five pamphlets, 50c., 8 oz. In twenty-five tracts, 80c., 8 oz.
—HOW TO LIVE, treating on Disease and its Causes, and all subjects connected with healthful living. An important work. pp. 400. Cloth $1.00, 12 oz. In pamphlet form, 75c., 10 oz.
—APPEAL TO THE YOUTH: The Sickness and Death of H. N. White, with his Mother’s Letters. Excellent instructions for both youth and parents. Cloth, 40c., 8 oz. Paper, 20c., 2 oz. Without likeness, 10c., 2 oz.
—THE BIBLE FROM HEAVEN; or, a Dissertation on the Evidences of Christianity. 30c., 5 oz.
—BOTH SIDES: A series of articles from T. M. Preble, on the Sabbath and Law. Reviewed. 20c., 4 oz.
—THE MINISTRATION OF ANGELS, and the Origin, History and Destiny of Satan. This is a new and interesting work; being a clear and forcible argument, and showing all that the title imports. 20c., 4 oz.
—SANCTIFICATION, or Living Holiness. Many common mistakes on this important subject, corrected. One of the best works ever published on this subject. 15c., 4 oz.
—THE THREE MESSAGES of Rev. xiv, especially the Third Angel’s Message, and Two-horned Beast. 15c., 4 oz.
—THE HOPE OF THE GOSPEL; or, Immortality, the Gift of God, and the State of Man in Death. 15c., 4 oz.
—WHICH? MORTAL, OR IMMORTAL? or, An Inquiry into the Present Constitution and Future Condition of Man. Third Edition. 15c., 4 oz.
—MODERN SPIRITUALISM: Its Nature and Tendency. The Heresy condemned from the mouths of its own advocates. Third edition, revised and enlarged. 20c., 5 oz.
—THE KINGDOM OF GOD: The Time and Manner of its Establishment. A Refutation of the doctrine called, Age to Come. 15c., 4 oz.
—MIRACULOUS POWERS. The Scripture testimony on the Perpetuity of Spiritual Gifts, illustrated by Narratives of Incidents that have transpired all through the Gospel Dispensation. 15c., 4 oz.
—APPEAL TO MOTHERS, on the Great Cause of the physical, mental, and moral, ruin of many of the Children of our time. 10c., 2 oz.
—REVIEW OF SEYMOUR. His fifty “Unanswerable Questions” on the Sabbath Question, Answered. 10c., 3 oz.
—THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL. An Exposition of the Prophecy of the Four Kingdoms, the Sanctuary and the 2300 Days, Dan. ii, vii, & viii. 10c., 3 oz.
—THE SAINTS’ INHERITANCE, shown to be the kingdom under the whole heaven, in the Earth made New. 10c., 3 oz.
—SIGNS OF THE TIMES, in the Moral, Physical, and Political Worlds, showing that the Coming of Christ is at the Door. 10c., 3 oz.
—THE LAW OF GOD, its Observance from Creation, its Immutability and Perpetuity, proved from the testimony of the Old and New Testaments. 10c., 3 oz.
—VINDICATION OF THE TRUE SABBATH, by J. W. Morton, late Missionary of the Reformed Presbyterian Church to Hayti; with a Narrative of the Author’s Personal Experience, of thrilling interest. 10c., 3 oz.
—REVIEW OF SPRINGER, on the Sabbath, and Law. 10c., 3 oz.
—BAPTISM, Its Nature, Subjects, & Design. 10c., 3 oz.
—THE COMMANDMENT to Restore and Build Jerusalem. A conclusive argument that it is to be dated from the 7th year of Artaxerxes, B. C. 457. Just the book for these days of wild conjecture on the prophetic periods. 10c., 2 oz.
—THE SEVEN TRUMPETS: An Exposition of Revelation vii and ix. A New Edition, thoroughly revised and enlarged. 10c., 2 oz.
—KEY TO THE CHART. An Explanation of all the symbols illustrated upon the Prophetic Chart. 10c., 2 oz.
—THE SANCTUARY, and 2300 Days of Daniel viii, 14; its Cleansing and the time of its accomplishment. 10c., 2 oz.
—THE CELESTIAL RAILROAD, a most happy exposure of the inconsistencies of popular religion. A new edition revised, and adapted to the present time. 4c., 1 oz.
—THE SABBATH OF THE LORD: A Discourse by J. M. Aldrich. 5c., 2 oz.
—THE END OF THE WICKED. 5c., 1 oz.
—MATTHEW XXIV: A Brief Exposition of the Chapter, showing that Christ is at the Door. 5c., 2 oz.
—MARK OF THE BEAST, and Seal of the Living God; showing how we may avoid the one, and secure the other. 5c., 1 oz.
—THE SABBATIC INSTITUTION, and Two Laws; showing when the Sabbath was Instituted, and the plain distinction between the Moral and Ceremonial Laws. 5c., 1 oz.
—BIBLE STUDENT’S ASSISTANT: A compend of Scripture References on Important Subjects. 5c., 1 oz.
—AN APPEAL for the Restoration of the Sabbath: An Address from the Seventh-day to the First-day Baptists. 5c., 1 oz.
—REVIEW OF FILLIO, on the Sabbath Question. 5c., 1 oz.
—MILTON on the State of the Dead. 5c., 1 oz.
—EXPERIENCE of F. G. Brown on Second Advent. 5c., 1 oz.
—SYSTEMATIC BENEVOLENCE, An Address, &c. 5c., 1 oz.
—THE SECOND ADVENT: Sixteen Short Answers to Sixteen Common Objections. 4c., 1 oz.
—SAMUEL AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR; an exposition of this remarkable portion of Scripture, showing the state of the dead, and the sin of witchcraft. 4c., 1 oz.
Tracts in Other Languages.
—LIV OG DÖD: “Life and Death;” a work in Danish, on the Nature of Man, the Saints’ Inheritance, and the Destiny of the Wicked. 280 pp., paper cover, 40c., weight 12 oz.
—THE BIBLE STUDENT’S ASSISTANT, in Danish. A work on the plan of the Assistant in English, containing scripture references on a variety of subjects, adapted to the Danish Bible. 5c., 1 oz.
—FORTY QUESTIONS ON IMMORTALITY, in Danish. 2c., 1 oz.
—THE SABBATH, Its Nature, and Obligation, in German. 10c., 2 oz. The Sabbath, in Holland. 5c., 1 oz. In French. 5c., 1 oz. In Danish 10c., 1 oz.
—AN EXPOSITION of Dan. ii and vii, in French. 5c., 1 oz.
—WHO CHANGED the Sabbath? Roman Catholic Testimony.
—PREACH THE WORD: An Argument for the Sabbath.
—DEATH AND BURIAL; or, Scriptural Baptism.
—MUCH IN LITTLE: A Collection of Choice Extracts on eternal misery.
—TRUTH.
—POSITIVE INSTITUTIONS; their Nature and Claims.
Three-Cent Tracts.
—THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY, popular objections to this scriptural doctrine briefly considered. This thorough little treatise removes in a masterly manner the difficulties supposed to lie in the way of the resurrection of the identical matter that goes into the grave.
—THE LAW OF GOD, By H. H. DOBNEY, England.
—JUDSON’S LETTER ON DRESS: An appeal to the female members of the Christian churches of the United States.
—SCRIPTURE REFERENCES. Same as B. S. Assistant without cover.
—MARK of the Beast, and Seal of the Living God.
—SPIRITUAL GIFTS: An Argument to show that the Gifts set in the Church, 1 Cor. xii, 8, 9, &c., were to continue to the end of time.
—THE WICKED DEAD: A thorough and Scriptural Exposition of the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
Charts.
—THE LAW OF GOD on a Chart of a size to be used by Preachers, varnished and mounted, $2.00.
—THE PROPHECIES of Daniel and John, illustrated upon a Chart, to be used by Preachers, varnished and mounted, $2.00. The two Charts with Key, $4.00. The two printed on cloth, with Key, $3.00. The two on cloth without rollers, by mail, postpaid, $2.75.
—SMALL CHART. A Pictorial Illustration of the Visions of Daniel and John, on paper 20 by 25 inches. Price 15c. by mail, postpaid.
Postage.
The law requires the prepayment of postage on books as follows: Bound Books, four cents for each four ounces or fractional part thereof; Pamphlets and Tracts, two cents for each four ounces or fractional part thereof. In the foregoing list, the weight of each book is given in connection with the price; and all who order books can estimate the amount of postage required, which should invariably be sent with the order, in addition to the price of the books. Thus, two 2 oz. books can be sent for the same postage as one; four 1 oz. books for the same postage as one, two or three of the same kind and so on.
Address.
All communications in reference to the Publishing Association, the Review, Instructor, and any of the foregoing books, should be addressed to J. M. Aldrich, Battle Creek, Mich. All business pertaining to the Health Reform Institute, or Health Reformer, should be addressed to Dr. H. S. Lay, Battle Creek, Mich.
Form of Bequest.
Important bequests are frequently lost to the Association through informality. Those who wish to will property to the Association to be devoted to the spread of the truth, should adopt the following form of bequest:
“I bequeath to my executor (or executors) the sum of——dollars in trust, to pay the same in——days after my decease, to the Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, located in the city of Battle Creek, Michigan, to be applied by the Trustees of that Corporation, to its charitable uses and purposes.”
Three witnesses should state that the testator declared this to be his last will and testament, and that they signed it at his request, and in his presence and in the presence of each other.
Moral and Social Condition of England.
A RECENT number of the North British Review gives a fearful account of the social sins and moral rottenness of British society. The British press have much to say about the “vices of democracy,” but no description of American society presents a picture of demoralization, barbarism, incapacity and dishonesty, one-quarter as bad as the British Review depicts the condition of British society. The substance of the article is thus epitomized by the New York Post:
The reviewer tells us that justice is so slow and costly in England, that to go to law, even in a just cause, is to court ruin; that the lawless classes have been fostered and encouraged; that the criminal class is “numerous, increasing, organized, daring, skillful, and growing daily more and more formidable and audacious; that the police is inadequate, and not so clever as the rogues; that the administration of the law is such as not to deter criminals or repress crime. The criminal class is so prodigiously numerous as to amount to fourteen per thousand of the adult population; the number of persons “convicted summarily” is twenty-six in every thousand; and this though the law appears to be administered with a shocking laxness. For instance, only 27,000 persons were arrested in 1866 for 50,000 “grave” offences known to have been committed; of the 27,000 only 19,000 were sent to trial, and only 14,700 were convicted and punished. Thus nearly half of those arrested for “grave” offences escaped punishment. No wonder the criminal classes are increasing in numbers and audacity in England.
Of two hundred and seventy-two cases in which a coroner’s jury brought in a verdict of murder, in only one hundred and twenty-four were persons arrested for the crime; only fifty-five were actually tried, only twenty-six were found guilty, and only twelve were executed. This would seem to show not only incapacity in the police, but carelessness, to say no worse, in the administration of the law.
The reviewer dilates upon the frauds in great mercantile transactions, and the adulteration practised by retail dealers, showing astounding recklessness and lack of conscience and honor in every rank of merchants, from the greatest to the least; and then turns to the management of the English railway system. Of the two thousand millions of dollars which the railways of England have cost, two-fifths, or eight hundred millions, he says, were “thrown away;” five hundred millions alone were paid for what is called “Parliamentary expenses,” which means lobbying charters through Parliament. “English fares are higher and English dividends lower than abroad; and while engineers, contractors, jobbing speculators and Parliamentary lawyers made large fortunes out of them, railway companies have been a source of ruin, instead of wealth, to thousands and hundreds of thousands of our innocent and unknowing countrymen.”
In municipal government the English have failed, even worse than we. Our great cities, if their people are heavily taxed, have at least, abundance of pure water, a decent police, and good order, but London and other English cities are as heavily taxed, and the result, this writer tells us, is “a complicated outcome of impure water, bad gas, streets filthy and broken up, a poisoned river and pestilential drainage, abused and neglected poor, the law insulted, conflicting jurisdictions, crime rampant, and pauperism and disease swelling and spreading year by year; while at the same time, we are paying for all these bad results heavier rates than under a wiser system would amply suffice for good ones.”
Nor is the agricultural population better off. Ignorance, squalor, filth and hopeless poverty to the most industrious, is the rule.
“In our agricultural districts a vast proportion of the working classes live in hovels where decency is difficult, and comfort and self-respect impossible, and in many of our towns, and most of all in the metropolis, the number of persons who herd together in habitations scarcely ventilated, drained imperfectly or not at all, with no water supply, and, in reference to the filth, indecency, and pestilential condition of which no language can be too unmeasured, must be reckoned by hundreds and thousands at least.
Obituary Notices.
By Otis Nichols; F. E. Munson
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth.
DIED, in Dorchester, Mass., Jan. 15, 1868, Mary Nichols, my beloved wife, aged 68 years. Mrs. N. was taken Jan. 5, with paralysis, and the next day with erysipelas and much pain. She endured her sufferings with much patience and resignation to God's will. Soon after she was taken she requested me to pray with her and for her, that her sins might be forgiven. We have good evidence that the Lord heard and answered our supplications. She told me her peace was made with God, her sins were forgiven, and that she was willing and ready to depart. About half an hour before she died, she said, The Saviour is precious.
She sleeps in Christ. Mrs. N. embraced the second advent message early in 1843, and had a deep-rooted faith in the time that the hour of God's judgment had come. She dissolved her connection with the Congregational church, and has never expressed a doubt respecting the Advent movement in 1843–4. In the following year she embraced the seventh-day Sabbath, and has ever since regarded this day as God's sacred day of rest.
OTIS NICHOLS.
DIED, in Parma, N. Y., at the residence of Asahel Munson, Jan. 18, 1868, of dropsy on the brain, Ernest, only son of William Nichols, aged 1 year and 19 days.
Farewell Ernest, lovely boy,
We leave thee with the silent dead,
'Till Jesus' voice in tones of joy
Shall call thee from thy lonely bed.
F. E. MUNSON.
Appointments.
And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
THE Lord willing, I will be in Genoa, N. Y., Feb. 22, 23. Would like a general attendance of the brethren from Catlin at this meeting, as I wish them to arrange their Monthly Meetings.
S. B. Whitney.
The next Monthly Meeting for the Burlington, Newton and Convis churches will be held in Convis, at the Austin school-house, north of Bro. Smith's, the second Sabbath in March. As many as can come from other places, are invited to be present.
THE next Quarterly Meeting of the Seventh-day Adventist church of Albany, Green Co., Wis., will be held February 22, 23. The Bro. and sisters from other churches are expected to meet with us. Come brethren and sisters, praying the Lord to meet with us, and give us a more perfect understanding of this will concerning us, that we may better improve the time given us to prepare for the coming of Jesus.
G. L. Holiday.
BUSINESS AND PERSONAL.
A limited space will be given under this head for Business Notices from the brethren, at 20 cents per line for each insertion. Parties must give good reference as to their standing and responsibility.
GRAPE ROOTS.—Those wishing grape roots for planting this spring, can obtain some varieties of the subscriber at the following rates. Isabella, 1 year, $5.00 per hundred. Same of two years' growth $6.00. Catawba, same ages, $7.00 and 8.00 per hundred. Concord $15.00. Delaware $20.00. Other varieties in proportion. They can be sent almost anywhere at a small expense to the purchaser.
E. B. Saunders.
North Parma, Monroe Co., N. Y.
We call the attention of the reader to the articles contained in our News Department this week. Famines, pestilences and earthquakes were to be in divers places, with wars and rumors of wars, and high over all, the cry of Peace and safety. What more do we want to fulfill the prophecy. Who cannot discern the signs of the times?
In its column of “Foreign Facts,” the N. Y. Independent prints the following item:
A monastery of the Cistercian Order has been commenced at Dubuque, Iowa, to comprise four large buildings of cut stone, costing $200,000. We place this item among our foreign facts, for certainly nothing could possibly be more foreign to our institutions, and to the very spirit of Americanism, than a body of Cistercian monks. We talk about the monkish ages as things of the remote periods of history, while monkish institutions are springing up all around us.
THE LEAVES OF THE TREE OF LIFE.
By John Nevins Andrews
THESE are said to be for the healing of the nations. Rev. xxii, 2. These nations are the nations of the saved that shall walk in the light of the city. Rev. xxi, 24. They are the redeemed out of every nation. Rev. vii, 9. Those who have access to the tree of life are commandment-keepers. Rev. xxii, 14. These are the very persons who have eternal life. Matt. xix, 17. The inhabitants of the new earth shall never be sick. Rev. xxi, 4; Isa. xxxiii, 24.
Why then is it said that the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations? Two answers may be returned: 1. The word rendered “healing” in this sentence is literally translated “service;” but it is only in a secondary or figurative sense that this is made to signify healing. Certainly there are other kinds of service for the immortal saints besides healing them of diseases.
2. But if the idea of healing be insisted upon, this is the proper answer. When God brought Israel out of Egypt he said to them: “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.” Ex. xv, 26. We are informed that “there was not one feeble person among their tribes” at this time. Ps. cv, 37. So it follows that when the Most High says to Israel, “I am the Lord that healeth thee,” he speaks not of restoring them from sickness, but of preventing disease from coming upon them. If the leaves of the tree of life are used with any reference to disease, it is not to cure, but to prevent it. They may in this way be for the healing of the nations just as God represented himself as healing the Israelites. Then the fruit of the tree of life will cause men to live forever; Gen. iii, 22; its leaves will prevent disease of any kind.
I think either of these answers removes the difficulty; but I prefer the first.
J. N. A.
A FAVORABLE OMEN.
By J. S. MILLER
In looking over back numbers of the Review with one of the brethren, recently, my attention was called to the fact, that in the volumes for 1863, (the oldest papers he had) the obituaries numbered from five to ten each week, while at the present time there are seldom more than three, and usually less than that number in any one paper. The query arose, whether this wonderful decrease of obituaries during a period that has been marked by large accessions to the body might not fairly be attributed to the health reform. It certainly speaks well for the movement we are taking in that direction. J. S. MILLER.
“WHY WILL YE DIE?”
By Vesta N. Cudworth
Dear sinner, hast thou weighed this matter well—
God's broken law? And art thou settled? Tell,
If with a fearless spirit thou canst brook
The future? Hast thou seen within God's book
What thou hast scorned, and all which thou hast lost,
And what this law transgressed, thy God hath cost?
Oh! is there not reserved some hidden spring,
That might be reached by mercy's tears, and win
Thy heart of steel? hast thou no tender spot
Can yet be touched by gratitude? a thought
Unselfish? Is it nothing Christ has done,
And is his blood so cheap—God's blessed Son?
Thou hast remorseful hours! when future scenes
Put on a dress they have not worn; when springs
That quenched thy thirst, seem strangely dry,
And vines that fed thee, yield thee no supply;
When all earth's pastures seem to thee less green,
Till scarce a star, or sunny spot is seen.
If just one glimpse of stern reality,
One thought of thy long future destiny,
Can banish joy, and bring tormenting fear,
Or drip from those deep wells one briny tear,
What will it be the truth to realize,
When not a star shall light those inky skies?
And mercy's dove, grown weary, folds her wing,
And far from thee shall take her flight to sing?
Pause but once more! aye, pause before you drink,
From sin's sweet chalice; see that fearful brink
That lies beneath thee; then if thou wilt drain
Its poisoned waters, and with frenzied brain
Rush to thy fate, then with the angels, I
Will weep, to see so rich a jewel lie
In broken fragments, beautiful, but lost,
A gem obscured that Jesus' blood has cost.
VESTA N. CUDWORTH.
Springfield, Mass.
FEATHER BEDS, MEETING-HOUSES, AND THE HEALTH REFORM.
By J. S. Miller
THREE out of the five Seventh-day Adventist churches in Rhode Island are sadly crippled in their efforts to forward the work of the third angel’s message for want of suitable places in which to hold their meetings. Now, if this obstacle can be removed without crippling the work in some other direction, certainly an effort to accomplish that end must meet the approval of the Master. I trust my brethren will not be offended if I throw out a suggestion on this point. Rhode Island Seventh-day Adventists own property enough in feather beds, which, if converted into money, would purchase an equal number of good mattresses, and leave a surplus of funds sufficient to build three meeting-houses large enough for our present wants. Question: Do we care enough about good health to learn to sleep on mattresses? Do we love the truth well enough to build houses of worship? Let actions, which speak louder than words, answer these questions.
J. S. MILLER.
Westerly, R. I., Jan. 25.
Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.