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Signs of the Times, Vol. 9, No. 37.

Christian Privileges and Duties

Signs of the Times

Oct 4, 1883

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 4, 1883

Christian Privileges and Duties.

By Mrs. E. G. White

By Mrs. E. G. White.
It is the privilege of every soul to seek and find peace in Christ. Yet this peace is granted only upon conditions. We must surrender our own ways and wills and plans, and thus put off the grievous yoke which we have bound upon our own necks, and we must take upon us the yoke of Christ, which will bring rest to our souls. "Learn of me," says the Divine Teacher; "for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
We each need to learn in the school of Christ; and it is because we are not more humble and diligent students that we are so slow to manifest meekness and lowliness of heart. It is only when we cherish these precious graces that peace and rest can abide in the soul. Only the humble and contrite ones find shelter in the promises of God; only these obtain a saving knowledge of the Scriptures, and a rich experience in trusting God and obeying his precepts. In our own strength we are indeed feeble; but in the strength of our Redeemer we may be strong. In the midst of tumult we may have quietness and peace. We must believe in him, even though darkness envelop the soul; we must work from principle, rather than from feeling. By this continual, unwavering trust, Satan is baffled and disappointed. Says the psalmist, "Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies." "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
If we would maintain our fidelity to God, in this time of danger and deception, we must constantly rely upon the power of Christ. We must be often before God in prayer, holding every emotion and every passion in calm subjection to reason and conscience, banishing all unholy imaginings, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. By earnest prayer and living faith we can resist the assaults of Satan, and keep our hearts unspotted from pollution.
The strongest temptation is no excuse for sin. However great the pressure brought to bear upon the soul, transgression is our own act. It is not in the power of earth or hell to compel any one to sin. The will must consent, the heart must yield, or passion cannot overbear reason, nor iniquity triumph over righteousness.
I appeal to you who profess to be followers of Christ to depart from all iniquity. You must do this, if you would represent the truth as it is in Jesus. God wants whole-hearted, thorough-going men. These only can stand the test of the Judgment. If those who have received the light were but true to their trust, what a flood of light would be poured upon the world! But how is it, not only with the members of the church, but with those who stand as ministers of the gospel? Do their habits and experience correctly represent the purity and simplicity of a holy, cross-bearing life?
The true toilers in the Lord's vineyard will be men of prayer, of faith, of self-denial,–men who hold in restraint the natural appetites and passions. These will, in their own lives, give to the world evidence of the power of the truth which they present to others; and their labors will not be without effect. "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." "And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal."
Fellow-workers for Christ, time is short; we have no moments to idle away. Are you watching for souls as they that must give an account, or are you yourselves drowsy, ease-loving, and lukewarm? Have you a living faith? Are you every day increasing in the knowledge of Christ? Do you possess practical godliness, Christian meekness, and deep love for the souls for whom Christ died? Search the Scriptures. Do not depend upon the little knowledge which you already have. Pray for clearer light. Dig for the precious gems of truth as for hid treasure. Thus will you be enabled to bring forth from the store-house of God things new and old.
In this age of conflicting doctrines, when fables abound, and there is so much sensational preaching on the one hand, and so great formality on the other, it is a difficult matter to arouse the people. Our only hope of success is to reach them through God. We must give evidence of earnestness, zeal, and devotion commensurate to the importance and solemnity of our work. There should be no exaltation of self. We are not to call attention to the instrument, but to present Christ and the sacred truths that are to test the people of God. If these truths sanctify our own hearts, if they purify and ennoble our own characters, we shall be living epistles, known and read of all men.
The ambassadors of Christ must learn where their strength lies. They must themselves drink of the living water, before they can guide others to the fountain. We must learn by experience what it is to lean upon the arm of our Beloved. There is no evil more fatal to the prosperity of the church than the influence of professed teachers and ministers of the gospel who are deficient in Christian experience, in faith, self-denial, self-control, and in the tact and energy essential for skillful warfare.
My brethren, you should be constant learners in the school of Christ, obtaining from the heavenly Teacher precious lessons to impart to others. You have lost much in your labors because you have not constantly felt the necessity of vital connection with God. There is earnest, solemn work to do in every branch of the cause of Christ. You need the Spirit and power of God, that your testimony, like a sharp, two-edged sword, may cut to the heart of those who hear.
The faithful witnesses for Christ will keep themselves unspotted from the world. Those who seek to be popular with the world, will not love the testimony of the Spirit of God. They are not sanctified through the truth; and after a brief period of half-hearted service, they will make a decided move toward uniting with the enemies of God. They reject the light, and it is withdrawn from them. In time it will be seen that they are in utter darkness.
Many retain a form of godliness and a connection with the church, when they bring no strength, help, or blessing to the church. They seek to make the narrow way broad and pleasant for the multitude to walk in. Such are destitute of spiritual eyesight. They have put out their own eyes, and they stumble at every step. The word of God has not widened the narrow way; and if the half-hearted and pleasure-loving choose a path where they need not bear the cross or suffer tribulation, they are in a path where the Saviour did not walk.
In all parts of our country, during the summer and autumn, large companies assemble in the tented grove, to worship God and to listen to words of warning and instruction from his servants. Great privileges are afforded by these yearly convocations. The Lord Jesus himself comes up to the feast. We have a precious opportunity to humble our hearts before God, and to become settled and grounded in the truth. Are these opportunities wisely improved? They will prove to us either a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. After these seasons are over, and those who met together have returned to their homes, will they be prepared to let their light shine forth to the world? Will their works correspond with the faith which they profess? If we continue to love the world, to have fellowship with the works of darkness, or to find pleasure in unrighteousness, then we have put the stumbling-block of our iniquity before our face, and have set up idols in our hearts. If we do not heed the word of the Lord, "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean," we are in a worse condition than if we had not listened to the words of truth.
The Scriptures clearly set before us the high and holy position which we should occupy as sons and daughters of God. If all who attend the camp-meetings would seek earnestly to attain this position, and would receive the spiritual benefit which it is their privilege to receive, they would be prepared to do good when they return home. If the love of Christ is kindled afresh in their own hearts, if they have drank anew from the heavenly fountain, their cheerful testimonies and their prayers, sent up in faith, will be as great a help to the church as ministerial labor. The Spirit of God will come into their meetings, and the hearts of believers will say, It is good to be here.
Every church, be it large or small, should be taught not to depend on ministerial labor. Therefore, fellow-Christians, there is the greater need that you kindle your tapers at the divine altar, that the light may shine forth to all around. However weak you may be, you can become a help and blessing to others, if you will keep your own souls in the love of God, and search the Scriptures for a clear understanding of the truth. It is not only your privilege but your duty to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. You may rejoice in a living Saviour, and may show to all connected with you that he is the center of your affections and your hopes.
Would that all might view this matter of daily, practical Christianity as it has been presented to me; would that they could see what we might be in spiritual power, and what we are because we neglect the light which God has given us! Many will have to combat intellectual slothfulness and spiritual stupor, before they can be a blessing to themselves or to their fellow-men. We are living under the most solemn message of warning ever given to our world. We are altogether too near the closing scenes of this world's history to be inattentive, to occupy a neutral position. It behooves us now to be wide awake, ready for every good work, ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us.
Brethren, you must come closer, closer to the bleeding side of Jesus. Instead of yielding to every passing influence, seek earnestly to know the truth, and then endeavor to form a character consistent therewith. Seek to be like Christ, meek and lowly of heart, and, like him, be resolute also; in principle be firm as a rock; be pure, sincere, and holy. Be ever cheerful, humble, grateful. Keep yourselves separate from the spirit and influence of the world. Let not sin find a sanction in your position. Give no occasion for evil-doers even to imagine that they have your sympathies. Let not irreligion find in your lax principles a pretext to excuse itself.
God calls upon you to be zealous and repent of your half-heartedness. Strive to walk wisely, in a perfect way. Begin and end each day with earnest prayer and close self-examination. Compare your life and character with the law of God, mark where its precepts condemn you, and set to work at once to correct the wrong by repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Wash your robes of character, and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. Let your words be well chosen. Put away all lightness, trifling, and irreverence.
Those who really desire to advance in the divine life will cherish every ray of light, and heed every warning given by the servants of God. The Holy Spirit admonishes those who preach the gospel, "Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine." If the Lord has given this command, there is certainly a work of reproving, rebuking, warning, and correction to be done. Let all be careful, then, how they allow their hearts to rise up against the reproofs of God through his servants; for in so doing they rise up against God.
Like the Pharisees of old, the self-deceived, the self-sufficient, the self-righteous, refuse to be warned. The Lord points out their dangers, but they do not heed his voice. As they assimilate to the world, they become the friends of evil-doers. While God reproves the transgressor, they feel inclined to excuse and encourage him. Thus they say to the sinner, It shall be well with thee. Such persons call good evil, in that they oppose and denounce those who faithfully deliver the messages of warning and reproof committed to them of God. They call evil good by extolling those who have no reproofs to bear and no warnings to give, who pass along in a careless, indifferent spirit, excusing sin, and by their own course encouraging worldliness and backsliding. All these are sanctioning a deception which has proved the ruin of many. The blood of souls is upon them. Their course is more offensive to God than is that of the open sinner. Anciently, the Lord always had among his people faithful prophets, whom he sent to reprove sin. He has never removed these from his church. Those who rise up against warning and reproof, and seek by their jests, their smart speeches, or their deceptions, to make of no effect the plain words of reproof prompted by the Spirit of God, will find, in the great day of final reckoning, an account against them which they will not wish to meet.
To be a Christian is to be Christ-like, a man of faith, a man of principle. The Christians most serviceable in the church are those whose convictions are so firm, whose characters are so strong, that nothing can sway them from their faith or deter them from their duty. As a people, we are altogether too much like the world. We are not the separate, holy people that God requires us to be. When we come up to the high standard of God's law, then shall we be indeed the light of the world.
The professed church of Christ has wandered from her privilege, her duty, and her God. Like ancient Israel, she has forsaken the covenant, and joined herself in harmony with the world. Pride, luxury, and pleasure are invited into the sanctuary, and her holy places are defiled. Those who have pledged their allegiance to God, enjoy the company and spirit of his avowed enemies. Their choice determines their character. Strong is the Lord God who judgeth them.
But, thank God, in every age he has had men who were not time-servers, men who would stand firm for the right, and risk all consequences. In the strength of God, Martin Luther fearlessly proclaimed the truths of the Bible. In vain earthly potentates sought to intimidate him. In vain they attempted to break his hold on God, and drive him to seek the favor of the pope or the protection of the emperor at the sacrifice of his faith. His one answer was, "God and the right will triumph." Neither men nor devils could silence him. Gold, ambition, honors, could not win him from his work of exposing error and declaring truth. In like manner Huss, Jerome, Ridley, and many others, counted not their own lives dear unto themselves that they might keep the testimony of Jesus. Amid torture and flames, amid dungeons and horrible deaths, these faithful standard-bearers held aloft the banner of the cross of Christ.
We also, who are called to stand in these last trying days of peril and conflict, must be willing, for the truth's sake, to sacrifice our ease, our time, our reputation, yea, even life itself. At whatever cost, we must be true to principle and to God.

BEAUTIFUL.

Beautiful hands are those that do Work that is earnest, brave and true, Moment by moment the long day through.
Beautiful feet are those that go On kindliest ministries to and fro, Down lowliest way, if God wills it so.
Beautiful shoulders are those that bear Ceaseless burdens of homely care, With patient grace and daily care.
Beautiful lives are those that bless— Silent rivers of happiness, Whose hidden fountain but few may guess.

The Day of the Sabbath.

THE seventh day of the week is the only weekly Sabbath of God's appointment.
My first reason for believing this proposition is, That the original Sabbath law referred to in Gen. 2: 2, 3, and embodied in Ex. 20: 8-11, requires the sanctification of no other day.
Gen. 2: 2, 3: "And on the seventh day [on day the seventh] God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day [on day the seventh] from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day [the day the seventh], and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."
Ex. 20: 8-11: "Remember the Sabbath day [the day of the rest, or Sabbath] to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day [day the seventh] is the Sabbath [rest] of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day [on day the seventh]; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day [the day of rest, or Sabbath], and hallowed it."
The only object, direct or indirect, of this commandment, is "the day." What are we commanded to remember? "The day." What are we required to keep holy? "The day." What did the Lord bless and hallow? "The day." In what are we forbidden to work? In "the day." Now let us inquire:—
1. What day? Not the day of Adam's fall; nor the day Noah went into the ark; nor the day of the overthrow of Sodom; nor the day of the exodus; nor the day of the provocation; nor the day of the removal of the ark; nor the day of Christ's birth; nor the day of his crucifixion; nor the day of his resurrection; nor the day of his ascension; nor the day of Judgment. It may be, and certainly is, proper that we should remember all these; but we are not told to do so in this commandment. Neither is it some one day of the week, but no day in particular; for how could we remember "the day," that is no day in particular? how could we keep holy "the day" that has not been specified? and how could we say that God had blessed and hallowed "the day" that was no one day more than another? What day, then? God says, Remember the Sabbath day, or the day of the Sabbath; Keep holy the day of the Sabbath; The Lord blessed and hallowed the day of the Sabbath. He also says, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work." This day, therefore, is "the seventh day," or "the day of the Sabbath."
2. What Sabbath? Not "a Sabbath," or "any Sabbath that man can invent, or that God may hereafter keep; for that would be "some Sabbath," but no one in particular. Not some institution yet undetermined that God may require man to observe weekly; for the command is not, Remember the Sabbath institution, but, "Remember the day of the Sabbath;" not, Keep holy the Sabbath institution, but, "Keep holy the day of the Sabbath." The Lord did not bless and hallow the Sabbath institution, but, "the day of the Sabbath." We are not forbidden to do work in the Sabbath institution, but in "the seventh day." In fact, the phrase, "the Sabbath," in this commandment, means neither more nor less than "the rest." It is not here the name of any institution at all, though it is often thus used in other parts of the Bible. Hence this Sabbath is "the Sabbath [or rest] of the Lord thy God."
3. Which day of the week is "the day of the Sabbath?" No other than that day on which the Lord rested; for the command refers to God's Sabbath. On which day of the week did he rest? "And he rested on the seventh day?" Gen. 2: 2. Therefore the day of "the Sabbath" is the same day of the week on which God rested from the work of creation; and as he rested on the seventh day of the first week, and on no other, the seventh and no other day of every other week must be the only "day of the Sabbath."
Let it be particularly observed that God does not say, Remember the Sabbath, or, Remember the Sabbatic institution, though this is necessarily implied in the command; but, Remember "the day of the Sabbath"—the day on which I have ordained that the Sabbatic institution be observed. As if he had said, There is little danger, comparatively that you will forget the fact of my having kept Sabbath; nor is it likely that you will altogether neglect to observe some day of rest from your arduous toils; for you will be driven to this by the ever-returning demands of your exhausted bodies; but you are, and always will be, in especial danger of forgetting the proper day of the week for honoring me in my own institution. Satan, who takes infinite delight in all kinds of "will-worship," while he hates with a perfect hatred every act of strict obedience to my law, will do all he can to persuade you that some other day will do just as well or even better. Remember, therefore, the day of my Sabbath, and keep the same day holy in every week; for—mark the reason—I have my self rested on the seventh day, and on that account I have blessed and sanctified that, and no other, day of the week, that you may observe it, and keep it holy, not because it is in itself better than any other day, but because I have blessed and sanctified it.
But you say the phrase, "the Sabbath day," or, "the day of the Sabbath," does not mean any particular day, but "one day in seven," or some one of the days of the week. You allege that "the day of the Sabbath," like "the pope of Rome," "the Emperor of Russia," or "the King of Denmark," is a generic term, alike applicable to all the members of the same class. The phrase, "the Emperor of Russia," you say refers alike to Peter, to Alexander, and to Nicholas, though only one of them could be emperor at any given time; so "the day of the Sabbath" refers alike to the seventh and to the first day of the week, though there never was but one Sabbath at any one time. This is a very ingenious and plausible method of evading the force of the divine testimony; but, as the reasoning by which it is sustained appears to be entirely sophistical, I cannot but look upon the whole thing as a fabrication. I believe that any man, possessing the requisite qualifications, may become "Emperor of Russia," but deny that any day but one can be the day of God's Sabbath, inasmuch as God had never kept, at that time, but one Sabbath, and that occupied only one day. There is only one day of American Independence; only one day of the resurrection of Christ; only one day of the birth of any one man; and only one day of judgment. And why? Because the American Independence was declared on but one day; Christ arose on but one day; the same man cannot be born on two different days; and God hath appointed only one day in which he will judge the world. Now, on the same principle, there can be but one "day of the Sabbath" of the Lord our God. If I should say that the day of Christ's resurrection is not on any particular day of the week, but only "one day in seven," you would not hesitate to call me a fool, while my ignorance would excite your deepest sympathy; but when you say that "the day of the Sabbath" does not mean that particular day on which the Lord's Sabbath occurred, but only "one day in seven," you expect me to receive your assertion as the infallible teaching of superior wisdom. I cannot, however, so receive it for the following reasons:—
1. If God had meant "one day in seven," he would have said so. His first and great design in writing his law on tables of stone was to be understood by his creatures; but, for more than two thousand years after he gave the law, no human being ever suspected that "the day of the Sabbath" meant anything else than the seventh day of the week, because it was commonly known that that day alone was in reality "the day of the Sabbath." Indeed, this "one-day-in-seven" doctrine is known to have been invented within a few hundred years, with the pious design of accounting for a change of Sabbath, without the necessity of repealing a portion of the moral law. It is matter of great surprise that those pious theologians, who first substituted "one day in seven" for "the day of the Sabbath," did not shudder at the thought of presuming to amend the language of the Holy Ghost. "The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." Ps. 12: 6. Brethren, are you prepared to enter into judgment, and answer for the liberties you have taken with God's word? In substituting the vague and indefinite expression, "one day in seven," for the definite and unequivocal terms, "the Sabbath day," and the "seventh day," you have as truly taken "away from the words of the prophecy of this book", as if you had blotted the fourth commandment from the decalogue; while your leading object has been to make way for the introduction of a new command that, for aught the Scriptures teach, it never entered into the heart of the Almighty to put into his law. "A faithful witness will not lie,"and when the world asks, Which day of the seven hath God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath? God expects that you, as faithful witnesses, will not only "not lie," but that you will not equivocate, or give with the gospel trumpet an "uncertain sound." He does not expect that you will quote a text from the Acts of the apostles, that says not one word about Sabbath-keeping, to prove that the fourth commandment enjoins the keeping holy of "one day in seven," but of "no day in particular."
2. God never blessed "one day in seven," without blessing a particular day. He either blessed some definite object or nothing. You may say, indeed, without falsehood, that God blessed "one day in seven;" but if you mean that this act of blessing did not terminate on any particular day, you ought to know that you are asserting what is naturally impossible. As well might you say of a band of robbers, that they had killed "one man in seven," while in reality they had killed no man in particular. No, brethren, yourselves know very well that God had not blessed and sanctified any day but the seventh of the seven, prior to the giving of the written law. You know that if God blessed any day of the week at all, it was a definite day, distinct from all the other days of the week. But this commandment says that "the Lord blessed the Sabbath day." Therefore the Sabbath day must be a particular day of the week. Therefore the "Sabbath day" is "not one day in seven," or an indefinite seventh part of time. Therefore it is not "one day in seven" that we are required to remember, and keep holy, and in which we are forbidden to do any work, but "the seventh day of the week," which was then, is now, and will be till the end of time, "the day of the Sabbath of the Lord" our God.
3. No day of the week but the seventh was ever called the "day of the Sabbath," either by God or man, till long since the death of the last inspired writer. Search both Testaments through and through, and you will find no other day called "the Sabbath," or even "a Sabbath," except the ceremonial sabbaths, with which, of course, we have nothing to do in this controversy. And long after the close of the canon of inspiration, the seventh day, and no other, was still called "the Sabbath." If you can prove that any one man, among the millions of Adam's children, from the beginning of the world to the rise of Antichrist, ever called the first day of the week "the Sabbath," you will shed a light upon this controversy, for which a host of able writers have searched in vain.
But further, the first day of the week was not observed by any of the children of men, as a Sabbath, for three hundred years after the birth of Christ. Do you ask proof? I refer you to Theodore de Beza, who plainly says so. If you are not satisfied with the witness, will you have the goodness to prove the affirmative of the proposition?
I infer, therefore, that "the day of the Sabbath," or "the Sabbath day," is the proper name of the seventh day of the week, as much so as "the day of Saturn;" and that to attach this proper name now to some other day of the week, and to affirm that God meant that other day, as much as he did the seventh, when he wrote the law on tables of stone, is as unreasonable as it is impious. If you say that when God speaks of the Sabbath day, he means "one day in seven, but no day in particular," you are as far from the truth as if you had said that when he speaks of Moses he does not mean any particular man, but some one of the Israelites. Moses was one of the Israelites, just as the Sabbath day is one day in seven. But when God says Moses, he means Moses, the son of Amram; and when he says "the Sabbath day," he means the seventh day of the week. You may give different names to the same object, without interfering with its identity; but to apply the same name to two different objects, and then to affirm that these two objects are identically the same, so that what is predicted of the one must be true of the other, is as though a navigator should discover an island in the Southern Ocean, and call it "England," and then affirm that the late work of Mr. Macaulay, entitled "The History of England," is a veritable and authentic history of this newly-discovered empire. Which would you wonder at the most, the stupidity or the effrontery of that navigator?
I cannot close this chapter without reminding you that, in attempting to refute the above reasoning, the main thing you will have to show is that "the Sabbath day," or "the day of the Sabbath," is an indefinite expression, applicable alike to at least two different days of the week, and that it is used indefinitely in this commandment. If it has been proved that "the day of the Sabbath" refers, and can refer, only to the seventh day of the week, then it is true, and will remain forever true, that the original Sabbath law requires the sanctification of no other day. This is the truth which I undertook to exhibit in this chapter, and is my first reason for believing the proposition under consideration.—J. W. Morton, in Vindication of the True Sabbath.

JEHOVAH-ROPHI

By H. Veysey

Postal-Card Jottings.—No. 2.

JEHOVAH-ROPHI.

Jehovah-Rophi is the title which our God takes to himself in Ex. 15 : 26. "I am Jehovah-Rophi;" i. e. Jehovah thy Physician, the Lord that healeth thee and will keep thee from these bodily diseases which I have brought upon the Egyptians. In Jehovah-Jireh (Gen. 22 : 14), we see the Lord providing a Saviour, through whom our sins are forgiven. Here we see him as a Saviour for our bodily ailments. So in Ps. 103 : 3, we bless the Lord first for forgiving all our iniquities, and secondly, for healing all our diseases, true certainly as to spiritual diseases, as, evil temper, pride, selfishness, covetousness, etc., but none the less true, to those who believe, as to bodily and physical ailments. The Lord Jesus, when on earth, "healed all that were sick (who applied to him), that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, (Is. 53 : 4) Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." This he did on the tree, where "he was wounded for our transgressions," and "bruised for our iniquities," (verse 5). Blessed Christ of God! how little we know of thee and thy precious work on that accursed tree! Reader, believest thou? Hast thou a personal Physician? Jer. 8 : 22. Art thou sick? He has died to heal thee. Only believe, and thou shalt see the salvation—the deliverance of God in thy case. Saints are not relieved of their bodily pains for the same reason that sinners do not get rid of their sins. They do not believe—they do not look to Jesus. (1) They do not diligently hearken to God, Ex. 15 : 26; Jas. 5 : 14-16; or (2) they look to other means which God graciously uses, as in John 5 : 3, 4; or (3) they do not believe in the Physician. Matt. 13 : 58; Mark 6 : 5, 6; Heb. 11 : 6. Pray over 2 Chron. 16 : 12, believe and obey. H. Veysey.

The Night Cometh.

By R. F. Cottrell

WE are admonished to work while it is day, because the night cometh wherein no man can work. Our opportunities for doing good will close. While life and probation lasts is the time to labor. In the grave there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom; therefore what we find to do should be done without delay. If delayed, it will soon be too late; the night will have come, and it must remain forever undone. To those of former ages and generations the exhortation to labor and the time in which to labor have been bounded by the life of each individual, and death brought the night in which no work could be done. But to the present generation the time to labor will close during the life of many who are now living. The work of saving lost sinners is about to close. The time is at hand when the living can work no longer. The night cometh. Then nothing more can be done to save lost sinners, ourselves, or others.
Now is the time to work. The flying moments are swiftly passing in which we may work. How important that they be all improved!
How precious are the remaining days and hours of our probation! Shall they be lost in idleness, while souls that might be saved are lost in consequence? Shall we remain indifferent while they run to waste? There is much to be done. The people of God are now called upon to make a united and mighty effort for the salvation of men. A great work is to be done. The time is short. The night cometh. Let all put forth a mighty effort, and do it now. Work while the day lasts. By spending the little remnant of our time aright, we may yet hope to hear it said in truth, “Well done;” and it must be said in truth, if said at all. Lose no time. Get the heart right before God; and work with zeal in the cause of truth and salvation. The night cometh.
R. F. COTTRELL.

The Proof of Love.

By Epsilon

LOVE, like faith, must be proved by works or deeds. The apostle John says: "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed, and in truth." 1 John 3 : 18. To love in deed is to prove our love by our deeds; and to love in truth is to seek the truth and cling to it.
In reading this epistle (1 John) we should distinguish between commandment (singular) "That we should believe on his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another," and commandments (plural). By commandments (plural) the apostle means the ten commandments; for he says: "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3 : 4. And again he says: "Whosoever abideth in him [God] sinneth not." 1 John 3 : 6. Or in other words, whosoever abideth in him keepeth his commandments or his law. "For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous." 1 John 5 : 3. Again, "All unrighteousness is sin." 1 John 5 : 17. But what is sin? "Sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3 : 4.
It puzzles me exceedingly that any one can persuade himself that he is a sincere Bible Christian and also claim that the code of ten commandments has been abolished. Epsilon.

What God Blesses.

By Charles Haddon Spurgeon

GOD blesses very slender things to the conversion of souls. It is very humbling, sometimes, to a preacher who thinks, "Well, I did preach a pretty fair sermon that time," to find God does not care a pin about him or his sermon, and that a stray remark he made in the street, which he hardly thought was of any value whatever, was what God had blessed; that when he thought he had succeeded best he had done nothing, and when he thought he had succeeded worst then God blessed him. Many a soul has had his eyes opened by an instrumentality which never dreamed of being so useful; and, indeed, the whole way of salvation is in itself extremely simple, so as to be well compared to the clay and spittle which the Saviour used.
I do not find many souls converted by bodies of divinity. We have received a great many into the church, but never received one who became converted by a profound theological discussion. We very seldom hear of any great number of conversions under very eloquent preachers—very seldom indeed. We appreciate eloquence, and have not a word to say against it by itself, but evidently it has no power spiritually to enlighten the understanding, neither does it please God to use the excellency of words for conversion. When Paul laid aside human wisdom and said he would not use the excellency of speech, he only laid aside what would not have been of much service to him. When David put off Saul's armor, and took the sling and the stone, he slew the giant; and giants are not to be conquered to-day any more than they were then by champions arrayed in Saul's armor. We must keep to the simple things, to the plain gospel, plainly preached.—Spurgeon.

The Destructive Nature of Infidelity

INFIDELITY removes nothing that is bad; It only ridicules and denounces all that is good. It tears down, it never constructs; it destroys, it never imparts life; it attacks religion, but it offers no adequate substitute.
Continue reading: The Divine Government