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Signs of the Times, Vol. 7, No. 9.

General Articles

Signs of the Times

Mar 3, 1881

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Mar 3, 1881

General Articles.

By Ellen G. White

THE LAW REPEATED.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
Moses obeyed the command of God to recapitulate the law in the hearing of all the people. He vividly portrayed the scenes of sacred grandeur which their fathers witnessed at the mount, when Israel was taken into covenant with the Lord as a peculiar treasure,—as a holy nation to be united with a holy God.
At the wonderful manifestations of divine power upon that solemn occasion,—the mysterious trumpet tones waxing louder and more terrible, the peals of thunder reverberating from every mountain side, the lightning's flash illuminating the stern and solemn heights, and on Sinai's summit, amid cloud, and tempest, and thick darkness, the glory of God as a devouring fire,—at these tokens of Jehovah's presence, the hearts of Israel failed with fear, and the whole congregation “stood afar off.” Even Moses exclaimed, “I exceedingly fear and quake.” Then above the warring elements was heard the voice of Jehovah, speaking the ten precepts of his law.
As God's great mirror revealed to the people of Israel their true condition, their souls were overwhelmed with terror. The awful power of God's utterances seemed more than their quaking frames could bear. They entreated Moses, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” As God's great rule of right was presented before them, they realized, as never before, the offensive character of sin, and their own guilt, in the sight of a pure and holy God.
That law is the mirror into which we also are to look attentively to see ourselves as we appear in God's sight. It is Heaven's great standard of right, with which we are to compare our life and character. Because the law points out our sins and declares our guilt, we are not to trample it under our feet, or to turn from the picture where our character stands revealed. We are not to forget what manner of persons we are, and make no effort to remove the defects from our moral character. We must exercise repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. We must be doers of the word, and not hearers only. The heart, the seat of the affections, must be transformed, the moral nature renewed by grace.
What a precious truth, that the only One who can give peace to the weary, sin-sick soul, is the originator of the very law the sinner has violated. All power in Heaven and on earth is given to Christ, and while his soul was made a sacrifice for sin, he will accept the humble penitent, and give him rest and peace. He knows the enormity of man's guilt, and for this reason he came to earth to open a way whereby men may be released from the bondage of sin, and obtain power to obey the law of God. Thus may we become a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, to show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Moses endeavors to impress upon Israel the importance of obeying the law of God. He urges them to show their love for God by making those sacred principles the rule of their daily life. They must be willing to suffer any inconvenience, rather than break one of God's commandments. Such a course would be more pleasing to God than mere professions of loyalty, or words of praise. And obedience to God was their only safety as individuals, or as a nation; for this alone would secure the divine favor, and insure to them happiness and prosperity in the land to which they were going.
The very same Jesus, who, veiled in the cloudy pillar, led the Hebrew hosts, is our leader. He who gave wise and righteous and good laws to Israel, has spoken to us as verily as to them. Our prosperity and happiness depends upon our unwavering obedience to the law of God. Finite wisdom could not improve one precept of that holy law. Not one of those ten precepts can be broken without disloyalty to the God of Heaven. To keep every jot and tittle of the law is essential for our own happiness, and for the happiness of all connected with us. “Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.” Yet finite man will present to the people this holy, just, and good law as a yoke of bondage,—a yoke which man cannot bear! It is the transgressor that can see no beauty in the law of God.
The whole world will be judged by this law. It reaches even to the intents and purposes of the heart, and demands purity in the most secret thoughts, desires, and dispositions. It requires us to love God supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves. Without the exercise of this love, the highest profession of faith is mere hypocrisy. God claims, from every soul of the human family, perfect obedience to his law. “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”
The least deviation from that law, by neglect, or willful transgression, is sin, and every sin exposes the sinner to the wrath of God. The unrenewed heart will hate the restrictions of the law of God, and will strive to throw off its holy claims. Our eternal welfare depends upon a proper understanding of the law of God, a deep conviction of its holy character, and a ready obedience to its requirements. Men must be convicted of sin before they will feel their need of Christ. “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” Satan is continually at work to lessen man's estimate of the grievous character of sin. Those who trample under their feet the law of God, have rejected the only means to define to the transgressor what sin is. They are doing the work of the great deceiver.
Whenever the people of Israel had met with difficulties in their journeyings, they had been ready to ascribe all their troubles to Moses. But now as he stands before them to bear his last testimony, their suspicions that he is controlled by pride, ambition, or selfishness, are removed. They listen with confidence to his words as he assures them that the reproofs, warnings, and encouragements, which he had given them, with the statutes and judgments, were not spoken by his own authority, but they were the words of the mighty God of Israel. “Behold I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. . . . For what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day?”
Moses assures his people that no other nation has so wise, righteous, and merciful, rules of life as had been vouchsafed to the Hebrews. Obedience to these sacred precepts would preserve harmony between man and man, and between man and his Maker, and would cause Israel to be regarded by all surrounding nations as a wise and understanding people. In what contrast to the teachings of God's ancient servant are the words of many who profess to be Christ's ambassadors, while they teach the people to transgress God's holy law. In the day when every work will be brought into Judgment before God, the question will be asked of these false guides, “Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord?” In that day, these profane triflers with God's holy law, will be overwhelmed with terror and despair.
Moses related to the people the simple facts in their history as they had occurred. He faithfully set before them their own errors, and the transgressions of their fathers, and told them plainly that distrust and unbelief had been their great sin. He did not call up bitter memories, or indulge in censure and reproof, to gratify his own feelings. He presented these things to show that it was unsafe for them to rely upon their own wisdom. With the pitying tenderness which a godly father exercises toward an erring son, he sought to awaken in them true sorrow for their sins, and heart-felt repentance toward God. He impressed them with the fact that God was not in any way chargeable for their misfortunes. He had been faithful to his promises, but they had broken their solemn pledge to him; they had transgressed his holy requirements, and his wrath had been kindled against them again and again.
God was presented before them, not as a stern, relentless judge, but as a loving, compassionate father. They were assured that when they would truly repent, he would pardon their sins. Moses presented before the people the love of God as displayed in their past journeyings, in pardoning their transgressions, and still retaining them as his people. He reminded them that they had often felt dissatisfied, impatient, and rebellious, toward God, because of their long wandering in the wilderness. But the Lord had not been chargeable with this delay in possessing Canaan. He was more grieved than they because he could not bring them into immediate possession of the promised land, and thus display before all nations his mighty power in the deliverance of his people. But they had not been prepared to enter Canaan. With their manifest distrust of God, with their pride and unbelief, they would in no way represent that people whose God is the Lord. They did not bear his character of purity, goodness, and benevolence.
Their fathers had forfeited his favor by their disobedience. Had they submitted to his authority, as a nation being governed by his judgments, and as individuals walking in his ordinances, they would long ago have been settled in Canaan, a prosperous, holy, happy people. Their delay to enter the goodly land dishonored God, and detracted from his glory in the sight of surrounding nations.
Their own perversity of spirit made it impossible for God to manifest his power in protecting them from the nations that opposed their passage to Canaan. When those who had been God's chosen people, who had witnessed so many displays of his greatness, and the majesty of his power, should imitate the iniquities of the heathen, the guilt of Israel would be as much greater than was that of the idolatrous nations, as were their privileges. Not one of the good things which God had promised to his people would fail if they would comply with the conditions upon which these blessings were bestowed. If God's angels wrought with the armies of Israel to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan because of their wickedness, the Hebrews must be free from the sins of those nations. They must maintain a high standard of purity and holiness, and must show in all their words and acts that they loved, feared, and obeyed, the great Ruler of the universe.
God could not sanction sin, nor protect iniquity. Justice and love are the ruling attributes of his character. While he will punish the transgressors of his law, that others may fear, he has ever tempered judgment with mercy. God singled out the Hebrew nation and connected them with himself, that he might make them representatives of his own character. He would make them a beacon of light to all surrounding nations, that his name might be glorified, and his service exalted. By communion with God, the Israelites were to become partakers of the divine nature, their hearts, debased by sin, were to be purified, their aspirations ennobled. They were to stand forth before the world as an example of what men may become through Jesus Christ. Those whom God would elevate and ennoble by connection with himself, would become, by transgression, wholly debased and Satanic in character. It was for them to choose the course which they would pursue.
The history of the children of Israel is written for our admonition. We are probationers as they were. We may connect with God as was their privilege. We may become strong in the strength of Israel's God, if we will believe and obey his word as did Caleb and Joshua. But if we are doubting, and unbelieving, and rebellious, as were the multitudes who fell in the wilderness, we shall be found unworthy to possess those mansions which Christ has gone to prepare for us.

A HOME IN HEAVEN.

By Mrs. M. F. Gould

BY MRS. M. F. GOULD.
A HOME in Heaven! Oh, happy thought! To gain at last what we have sought; To obtain a place with the ransomed throng And unite with them in the conqueror's song.
A home in Heaven! no fights, no fears, No days of sadness, or nights of tears; But the weary laborer'll be at rest, And find a home among the blest.
Just a few more days of conflict here, Just a few more days of earnest prayer, Of watching and waiting for our Lord, And holding fast to his precious word.
Then rejoice, for Jesus soon will come; Rejoice, for we'll soon be gathered home, To walk those streets of glittering gold, And sing the songs which ne'er grow old.
Soon we'll partake of life's fair tree, And be clothed with immortality; We'll roam the wide dominions o'er And be parted from our God no more.
Woodland, Cal.

PERSONALITY OF THE DEVIL.

By John Norton Loughborough

[Thoughts suggested by the perusal of a lecture of Robert Roberts of Birmingham, England, in a series of letters to a friend in Somerset, by Eld. J. N. Loughborough of Southampton. Published by request.]

LETTER FIRST.

My Dear Friend J.: In compliance with your request, I have carefully and prayerfully read the fifth of Mr. Robert's series of twelve printed lectures, and will now give you some of my thoughts on the subject. I have not only read his lectures once, but a second and third time, and I understand him to fairly take the position that the devil is not a personal being, but only sin as it exists in the hearts of men.
It seems to me he tries too hard to confound the common view of the devil with that held by Pagans without presenting proof of the same. He says:—
"In most systems of theology, the devil is placed in juxtaposition with God. As the one is presented for worship, as the source and embodiment of all good, so the other is held up for detestation and dread, as the instigator and promoter of all evil. The one is regarded in the light of the good God, and the other as the bad God. It is the polytheism of Paganism reduced to the smallest dimensions compatible with its existence."
The above is the introduction of his lecture, and it seems to me is a very unfortunate thrust for himself. It passes with me as his assertion, merely, without proof. It would be more convincing had he given us a quotation (if such could be found) from the writings of some religious system of theology which sets forth the devil as a god. What Pagans have taught and what Protestant Christians teach on this subject I do not consider the same, and why should we assume that the one is the same as the other.
We who believe in the existence of a personal devil do not claim that he is a diety in any sense, but that he is a fallen being of a higher grade than man, who uses his faculties and powers to war against truth and right. Neither do we claim that all evil deeds performed, at the present time, are directly and immediately from the devil. There are presented in the Scriptures three sources from which temptations to evil arise; from the lusts of the human heart, from the world without, and from the devil.
Mr. R. proceeds to state,—
"Satan is looked upon as the great bad agent, as God is looked upon as the great good agent, and the moral universe is the battle-field on which they measure strength in what would appear to be a somewhat unequal encounter."
What believer in the Protestant idea of the devil ever taught, either in print or otherwise, that God is "measuring strength" with the devil? The Scriptures clearly set forth, as in the case of Job, that the devil can go no farther than permitted, and that finally he is to be completely overthrown, for Christ is to "destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil." Heb. 2:14.
Again he says:—
"Common belief assigns something like omniscience to the evil being thus described; he is regarded as universally at work, alike active in England and America, and all other parts of the globe at the same time, and exerting his seductiveness in millions of hearts at once."
Contrary to the above view we believe the Bible statement that the devil "walketh about," as a roaring lion, "seeking whom he may devour." If he were omniscient, all things would be open before him, as in the case of God, and his "seeking," which implies a lack of knowledge, and a dependence upon his researches for a knowledge, of those he could lead astray, would be unnecessary. Of the omniscient God we read, "All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." As to how Satan is working in various parts of the world at the same time, we read of "the devil and his angels." He may have his legions of angels in various parts of the world at the same time carrying out his purposes, equally called the work of the devil. In special cases they have their councils with "the devil," "the father" of lies.
After stating very positively that there is no personal devil, Mr. R. says,—
"We are not unaware that apparent countenance is given to the doctrine in the Scriptures. . . . The apparent sanction accorded by the Scriptures to the idea of a personal, supernatural devil is no sanction at all, but arises from a misconstruction under educational bias of certain allusions to other agencies altogether."
Having thus denied the existence of a personal devil, although admitting that the Scriptures seem to show us what such a being, he passes on to show us what this devil is. We quote,—
"'The wages of sin is death.' (Rom. 6:23.) 'Sin entered into the world, and death by sin.' (Rom. 5:12.) This is an eternal principle; death and sin are inseparable. 'God only hath immortality' (1 Tim. 6:17); and he bestows it on the principle of obedience. Disobedience, which is sin, He will not tolerate; in every case he visits it with death. Therefore the angels which kept not their first estate, were cast down to hell (the grave) and reserved under chains of darkness (the bonds of death) (Jude 6; 2 Pet. 2:2-4); therefore Adam was sentenced to return to the ground (Gen. 3:19); therefore Moses was prohibited from entering the promised land, and condemned to die (Deut. 32:48, 52); and therefore Uzzah was slain for harmlessly (humanly speaking) saving the ark from a fall (2 Sam. 6:6, 7). . . . With God is the fountain of life. (Ps. 36:9.) No one can steal a march upon him, so as to retain life and power in rebellion. 'In His hand is the life of every living thing' (Job 12:10), and He cuts away the life that would be lifted audaciously in antagonism to Heaven; he consigns to death all disobedience and sin." p. 153.
I have quoted the above in which he claims the angels that sinned were cast into "the grave." I fear, to carry his point, he has drawn a hasty conclusion. While I admit that all willful transgressors against God are to be visited with death, is it certain that the sinning angels are now dead? It is of considerable importance to know where these sinning angels were cast. Is the assertion warranted that they were cast immediately into death and the grave because death comes by sin? The Bible testimony is not that they are dead, but that they are "reserved unto judgment," intimating surely that they are not yet judged.
He says of the angels, "Cast down to hell (the grave)" as though it were a foregone conclusion that the word hell in this text meant the grave.
The word rendered hell in the New Testament, meaning the grave, is hades. The word rendered hell, referring to the place of the future punishment of the wicked, is gehenna. The word rendered hell in 2 Peter 2:4 is neither hades nor gehenna, but tartaroo-o. Is it so certain that tartaroo-o means the grave that Mr. R. can assert it without fear of criticism. Let us look.
The word tartaroo-o used by St. Peter is a verb signifying to thrust down to tartarus. As this case in Peter's epistle is the only instance of the use of the word in the Scriptures, and as this does not clearly define the place, we will inquire for the meaning of the term tartarus when used as a noun. The Greek Lexicon of Liddell and Scott says, "Tartaroo-o, to hurl or cast into tartarus, N. T. Tartarus, a dark abyss, as deep below hades, as the earth is below heaven. Later, Tartarus was either the nether-world, generally, like hades or the regions of the damned as opposed to the Elysian fields."
Parkhurst, in his Lexicon, says, "In order to know what was the precise intention of the apostle by this expression, we must inquire what is the accurate import of the term tartarus. Now it appears a passage of Lucian that by tartarus was meant in a physical sense the verge or bounds of this material system, for he says, 'Thou formedst the universe from its confused and chaotic state, and after separating and dispersing the circumfused chaos, which, as in one common sepulchre, the whole world lay buried, thou drovest it to the confines of outer tartarus.' Tartarus, then, in its proper physical sense, is the condensed, solid, and immovable darkness which surrounds the material universe. And thus tartarus will import that God cast the apostate angels out of his presence into that blackness of darkness where they will be forever excluded from the light of his countenance."
Lange's Commentary says, "Tartarosas (a participle) is another term peculiar to Peter, and not found in the seventy. Grotius justly remarks that it denotes, in classic Greek, to cast down into tartarus, not to condemn to tartarus. Nor does tartarus (the noun) occur either in the New Testament or in the seventy. The Greeks conceived it to be the lowest regions of the earth, full of darkness and cold, not a region in the air, as Grotius, quoting Plutarch, supposes."
Dr. Bloomfield says: "The tartarus being a part of hades in which criminals were supposed to be confined until the day of Judgment. Now they are not represented as being in actual torments, but only adjudged to them, and in the meantime committed to security of chains of darkness; i. e., to places where utter darkness holds them as it were enchained."
Dr. Gill says: "'Cast them down to hell.' They were hurled out of heaven, from whence they fell as lightning, into the lowest, or inferior places, as the Syriac version renders it, either into the air, as in Eph. 2:2, or into the earth, or into the deep, the abyss, the bottomless pit, where they are detained as in a prison."
Dr. Whitby says: "'Casting them down to hell.' Tartarus, saith Phavorinus, is the sub-terrestrial air where the sun comes not. It signifies also, saith Suidas, the place in the clouds or in the air; hence in Homer, tartarus was the dark air."
It is not intimated in one of these writers that the tartarus of St. Peter is the grave, but it seems to me after carefully examining all the various writers on this subject that tartarus is the name used by the Spirit of God for the great abyss of space into which Satan and his angels were cast after their rebellion, before the creation of man. The chains of darkness must signify a condition of hopeless despair, for literal chains cannot be made out of darkness.
Mr. R. says: "An immortal rebel is an impossibility." True, "For the wages of sin is death." God will at last put down all rebellion, and make an end of sin. Satan is not an immortal rebel, for he is to be destroyed with his works.
His next statement I am not prepared to endorse without modification. He says, "No one can retain life and power in rebellion." Some men have lived to a great age in sin and rebellion against God; the wise man, Solomon, says, "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." Eccl. 8:11. Job inquires, "Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power. Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them." Job 21:7-9. If this is true of man, why may not the devil, - a fallen angel, of a higher grade of being than man [though not immortal], endowed with a greater life force, perhaps sufficient to save him from decay for thousands of years, - why may he not live until destroyed at last in the lake of fire?

The Judgment of Satan and His Angels

By Editor

Man sinned and was cast out of Eden. Death was not executed upon him at once. Adam "lived nine hundred and thirty years, and he died." In consequence of his sin the race is subjected to all the effects of mortality, and finally die; but when our cases come to Judgment we must receive, for our personal sins, "the second death." So Satan and his angels that sinned were cast down, degraded from the joy and light of heaven to the darkness of tartarus, not yet finally judged because their sinful state is not yet completed. They are to be judged at last and consigned to the lake of fire. As these fallen angels now tempt mankind to sin, when their judgment comes the saints of God who have overcome their temptations, will have a part with Christ in judging them. 1 Cor. 6:3.
We are not of the class who, as Mr. R. intimates, claim that the devil was created a devil and was "never nothing but a devil." We claim that he with other angels was placed on probation, not as immortal beings, but, to decide their title to a second estate, and this they would secure by keeping "their first estate." Jude 6. Instead of so doing, and becoming "as the angels of God in heaven," to "die no more" (St. Luke 20: 36), they left that estate ("sinned," 2 Pet. 2: 4), and "fell from heaven." St. Luke 10: 18; Rev. 12: 9. Of the devil, Christ said, "he abode not in the truth." St. John 8: 44. It could not be said that he abode not in the truth if he never was in it. By a comparison of the above texts with other equally explicit statements of Scripture we learn that he who is now called the devil was once "in heaven," "in the truth," was "cast out," and "his angels with him," and thus he "fell from heaven," and is now "going to and fro in the earth," "like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." He is an outside foe who is to be resisted by steadfastness in the faith, and whom to successfully resist it is needful to submit to God. and be clothed with his "whole armor." St. James says, "submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4: 7.
As to his question, why it was necessary that the devil should be "defeated through death," I answer, Death is the penalty for sin. Before any being could defeat the work of the devil, and break his power of death off the race of man—it was needful that this being should go into death and the grave, and break the power of death in his own person. Coming forth from the grave a victor would be a demonstration of his power to rescue all from death. So Christ says, "I am he that liveth and was dead, and am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell and of death."
The devil introduced death into our world by introducing sin. So Christ obtains power to destroy sin, death, and the devil, by obtaining the victory over death, thereby demonstrating to all that he is more than a match for the full result of Satan's deception. Having passed through death, he will destroy "him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Heb. 2: 14.
On page 154 of the lectures we read:—
"The words 'devil' and 'Satan' occur repeatedly in the Scriptures, and are used in a personal sense; it is their use in this way, as affording sanction to the popular dogma, that demands our consideration. The first general fact that strikes the attention is the entire absence from the Scriptures of a formal devil theory. The word occurs often enough, but there is no affirmation of the doctrine popularly attached to the word. This is remarkable; for if the doctrine be true, why do we not find it explicitly detailed like other points of truth? The doctrine of God's existence; of his creative powers; of his relation to his universe, is not only implied in the appellations he appropriates to himself, but formally propounded, 'I am God, and there is none else.' (Isaiah 46: 9.) 'To whom will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things.' (Isaiah 40: 25, 26.) 'Thou knowest my downsitting, and mine uprising; thou under-standest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. There is not a word on my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence?' (Psalm 129: 2-7.) These and many other declarations affirm the verity of God's existence, attributes, and power, but in the case of the supposed devil we have no such information."
He says we have "no such information." I will simply say, the devil is not "such" a being, therefore we do not expect to find such information concerning him—a created being—as we do of the Almighty, omnipotent, and all-wise Creator, the Bible tells us what God did, and what he is doing, and as, Mr. R. justly concludes from this, there must be a personal deity, called God. As previously shown, the Bible tells us also of the devil as a being who was once "in the truth," and "abode not in it," who was "cast out of heaven," "fell" from heaven "like lightning," and who is now "going about" seeking to "devour" men. Why should we not admit this as proof of the devil's existence on the ground that we admit the other as proof of the existence of God? If we explain away what the Bible says of the devil as only a myth of Paganism, or a simple diffusion of the principle of evil through the world, who could deny the Spiritualist his claim that God is simply the principles of goodness and power diffused through all space, and that therefore everything is God? If, as I admit, proof of the existence of a personal, true God is found in what the Bible says God did, why not admit that there is also a personal devil from what the Bible says of him and of what he did and does?

BLESSING AT THE TABLE.

By Theodore Goodrich

THE custom of asking a blessing upon food before eating is a most beautiful one. What can be more appropriate at a grand banquet in the presence of the guests, who with bowed heads wait the rising of the minister who with the dignity of a Christian gentleman, invites the divine presence and blessing.
Fitting as this is, it becomes still more significant and touching when a single family, surrounding a table, perhaps scantily supplied with the good things of life, return thanks for what they have and then with perfect appetites and perfect humor eat without a criticism. The phrase, "I thank you," is a mark of refinement, and kindliness of heart. But the words are often used as an empty phrase without meaning. Often this is true in families where grace is said at the table.
They ask a blessing upon the food, but if it disappoints the taste, they utter criticisms that amount to maledictions. Every item on the well-filled table is subjected to the same test, and the grumbling continues to the end of the meal. The children have heard the heavenly Father thanked for "these evidences of his care," "these tokens of his goodness and mercy;" have heard him asked to "bless them to our use;" have seen the covers lifted, and in tones just as audible, heard the same "tokens" discussed, heard the deprecatory verdict of critical eye and palate. What must be the children's thoughts? Do they conclude the Father has heard the invocation and the thanksgiving and nothing more? The holy sacrament has been parodied in drinking saloons, but with all the ingenuity employed there to provoke levity, scarcely could a greater farce be enacted than some I have known that have occurred at the tables of church people. It would be a startling breach of etiquette for a guest to find fault with the food provided by the hostess, and yet those are exactly the circumstances I am narrating. So disturbed have I been, that the propriety of dispensing with the custom altogether has suggested itself, rather than dishonor it by association with what too frequently follows. It would be a wise alternative to do away with the blessing or the grumbling.—Theodore Goodrich, in Advance.

The Square Man

The square man measures the same each way, and he hasn't any wany edges or shaky lumber in him. He is free from knots and sap, and won't warp. He is clear stuff, and I don't care what you work him up into, he won't swell, and he won't shrink. He is amongst men what good kiln-dried boards are among carpenters; he won't season-crack. It don't make any difference which side of him you come up to, he is the same size each way, and the only way to get at him anyhow is to face him. He knows he is square, and never spends any time in trying to prove it. The square man is one of the best shaped men the world has ever produced; he is one of that kind of people who can't alter the spot to fit a spot, but you must alter the spot to fit him.

A BIBLE OLD AND RARE.

By The Methodist

It is not generally known that in the Congressional Library, at Washington, there is an old Bible which is well worth a walk to the capitol to examine. It is of Italian origin, and is supposed to have been written in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, but the actual date is unknown. It is written in Latin, upon vellum, in clear, bold characters, and extremely uniform. The writing is in two columns, about three inches wide, with a margin of two inches. It is embellished with 146 miniature paintings, and upward of 1,200 smaller illuminations, which are beautifully executed, and are as brilliant to-day as the day they were done. The initials of books and prologues are two and a half inches in height, and those of the chapters are one inch in height. It is contained in two large volumes, and cost the government $2,200 in gold when gold was at a high premium, and was purchased at a sale of the library of Henry Perkins, Hanworth Park, near London, in June, 1873. The skins in the first volume have all been repaired, except five; in the second volume they are nearly all perfect.—The Methodist.

The Leper Missionary

The vilest of all diseases is the leprosy. It is horrible and hopeless. In many respects it resembles sin. It fastens on the system without warning. It is incurable by human means. It spreads to every part of the body till the whole head is sick and the whole heart faint. In some parts of the world lepers are shut up in an inclosure, and when once its gate is turned on them they never return to mother, wife, or child. Mr. Moffatt found such places in South Africa. On inquiry he learned that a missionary had turned his back on all pleasurable life and voluntarily and in health had entered that relentless gate to offer the gospel to the poor lepers. He became an outcast for them, for he never could return. No human sacrifice ever was known that so much resembled that of Jesus for sinners. This disease prevails in most hot countries. There is a mission for lepers in India, which last year received from all the world nearly five thousand dollars. They supported one hundred and forty lepers, among whom frequent conversions occurred.—Golden Censer.

TOO POOR TO TAKE A PAPER

The tendency of the church to fondle and pet persons brought from the lowest depths of wickedness, more than they do those who have never fallen into such disgrace, and thus to put a price on infamy at the expense of respectability, is thus commented on by a writer in the St. Louis Evangelist: “When Paul remembered his past sins of persecuting the church of Christ, he said he was not meet to be called an apostle. He did not think his sin was any credit to him. He confessed his sins with tears hot with repentance. He never referred to them with smiles and jokes, aiming to create laughter. He never hinted that he was a better preacher because he was such a bad sinner. Many of our modern reformers do these things, and many Christian people endorse them by listening to them and laughing at their rehearsals of drunkenness and dishonesty.”

TOO POOR TO TAKE A PAPER

TOO POOR TO TAKE A PAPER.

MOORE, of the Rural New Yorker, was sitting in his office one afternoon when a farmer friend of his came in.
"Mr. Moore, I like your paper, but the times are so hard I cannot pay for it."
"Is that so, friend Jones? I'm very sorry to learn that you are so poor. If you are so hard run, I will give you my paper."
"Oh no! I can't take it as a gift."
"Well, then, let me see how we can fix it. You raise chickens, I believe?"
"Yes, a few; but they don't bring anything hardly."
"Don't they? Neither does my paper cost anything hardly. Now, I have a proposition to make to you. I will continue your paper, and when you go home you may select from your lot one chicken and call her mine. Take good care of her and bring me the proceeds, whether in eggs or in chickens, and I will call it all square."
"All right, Brother Moore," and the fellow chuckled as he went out, at what he thought a clever bargain. He kept the contract strictly, and at the end of the year found that he had paid about four prices for his paper. He often tells the joke on himself, and says that he has never had the cheek to say that he was too poor to take a paper since.
Continue reading: BIBLE REVISION, WITH SPECIMENS