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Review and Herald, Vol. 59, No. 11.

Our Contributors

Review and Herald

Mar 14, 1882

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 14, 1882

Our Contributors.

By R. F. Cottrell

Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

Will Worship.

BY ELD. R. F. COTTRELL.
THE LAW OF THE SABBATH: its Obligation on Christian Believers. By Rev. J. Litch. This pamphlet contains the argument of Dr. Litch in answer to Mr. Bourdeau, a Seventh-day Adventist, on this important question. It shows that the Sabbath mentioned in the law of Moses was strictly a Hebrew institution, and as such obligatory only on the adherents to that law; that believers in Christ are at liberty to keep the first day of the week as a day of rest and worship, under the law of the land in which they live; and that there is no injunction in the Scriptures for Christians, either Jewish or Gentile, regarding the time or the mode of its observance.—Messiah's Herald.
The above advertisement of a tract is a remarkable document. From the title, “The Law of the Sabbath,” we might infer that there was a law respecting the Sabbath, and from the expression, “Its Obligation on Christian Believers,” we might be supposed that Christians are under some kind of obligation in relation to its observance. But the notice which follows sweeps away this illusion.
The Herald, like some others, has the faculty of dignifying the ten commandments with the title, “The Law of Moses.” Notice the expression, “The Sabbath mentioned in the law of Moses.” Why not say, The Sabbath of the law spoken by the voice of God himself, written with his own finger in tables of stone, and mentioned throughout the whole Bible, by Christ and his apostles, as well as by the ancient prophets. This would have been telling the truth as it is. Who is so blind as not to see through such transparent sophistry?
But we are told that the tract shows that the Sabbath “was strictly a Hebrew institution.” In opposition to this, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man.” And the evangelical prophet had said, “Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it,” etc. This testimony shows that all the Gentiles who turn to the Lord, to serve him, should keep his Sabbath and no longer pollute it.
But the Herald says the tract shows that the Sabbath “is obligatory only on the adherents to that law.” The law with which God connected the Sabbath is the law of ten commandments. Consequently the argument is this: You are under no obligation to keep the Sabbath, unless you adhere to the other nine commandments; but if you choose to keep the other nine, you are at liberty (to say the least) to keep the Sabbath. This makes the obligation of the law of God depend upon whether we choose to adhere to it. In accordance with this, he teaches that “believers in Christ are at liberty to keep the first day of the week as a day of rest and worship, under the law of the land in which they live.” Yes, at liberty to keep the first day. What follows is very true of the first day, namely, “That there is no injunction in the Scriptures for Christians, either Jewish or Gentile, regarding the time or the mode of its observance.” The law of God is not of such a character. The fourth commandment is very explicit in regard to both the time and mode of the observance of the Sabbath.
The sequel of the tract, as advertised, seems to be that “the law of the Sabbath” is no law, and that “its obligation” does not exist; unless, indeed, there be those who choose to adhere to it. But, still, I would recommend adherence to the law of God. This will be much wiser than to try to overthrow it. The law of the land is to be obeyed, so far as it does not conflict with the law of God.

The Destruction of Jerusalem.

By Mrs. M. E. Steward

BY MRS. M. E. STEWARD.
(Concluded.)
When the Israelites were led as a nation out of Egypt, and were walled in from all other peoples by the ceremonial law, their divine leader, through Moses, plainly set before them the rewards of obedience and the consequences of disobedience. The Lord said (Deut. 28) that after they had suffered many other calamities, he would “smite” them “with madness and blindness and astonishment of heart.” Verse 28. We have seen that just prior to the coming of Titus, the Jews became fearfully wicked, warring among themselves, led on by tyrannical men, one of whom was a Levite. The women were as bad as the men. God had left them to “blindness” and “madness” (representing a dreadful deception), and they had incited the people to desperate revolt, which ended in the most intense suffering at the very “sight” of which they were “mad.” Verse 34. (“Crazed” is more nearly the original idea.) The Saviour had said, “For the days shall come upon thee that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; . . . because thou knowest not the time of thy visitation.” Luke 19:43, 44.
In Rev. 3:17 we read of another class who are “blind.” They are also destitute of all that would make life valuable or desirable. From the words, “And knowest not,” we infer that it must be a spiritual condition which is here represented. Judging from the fate of the “blind” Jews, what may we expect for the “poor” Laodiceans!
Moses declared (Deut. 28:49), “The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far.” Most of the soldiers comprising Titus’ army came from Britain, France, and Spain, then the farthest parts of the earth; and “Vespasian and Adrian left Britain for the scene of contest.”—Jamieson. “As swift as the eagle flieth.” As the eagle is the king of birds, so the Romans held at this time universal dominion. Their ensign was an eagle. “A nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand.” This prophecy could not have referred to the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, for the Babylonian was a dialect of the Hebrew, but the Latin, spoken by the Romans, was a language entirely unlike that of the Jews.
“A nation of fierce countenance.” This represented a stern, severe character, such as that of the Romans, which, as we have seen, did not “regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young.” Verse 50. “He shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed.” Verse 51. Such is the natural consequence of invasion.
Verse 52: “And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustest, throughout all thy land.” Not only were the massive walls of Jerusalem thrown down, but the enemy took all the strong-holds in Judea. “And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body.” Verse 53. “Perhaps the histories of all other nations on earth together do not contain so many well-authenticated instances of this most horrid effect of desperate hunger as are found in that of the Jews.”—Scott.
Sickness was threatened. This also is the natural consequence of a long siege, and of scarcity of provisions. Verse 68: “And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships; . . . and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.” Multitudes were sent to Egypt, as well as to other countries, to be sold as slaves; so many that though they went at the lowest price, purchasers could not be found for them all, and thousands were left to perish of want.
All down through their history to the final dispersion of the Jews, the Lord sent entreaties and threats and warnings, predicting coming evil, by his “servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them.” Within a fewyears of the destruction of Jerusalem, the most remarkable signs began to be witnessed.
Josephus says, “There was a star resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet that continued a whole year.” Before the rebellion in Jerusalem began, during a feast of tabernacles, which was the most joyous of all their feasts, at the ninth hour of the night [about three o’clock in the morning—the very hour the Romans chose more than once for important attacks on the devoted city], a light bright as day shone round the altar and the holy house, lasting half an hour. The unlearned thought this a favorable omen, but the scribes believed differently.
The great eastern gate of the inner court, the most sacred and important of all the gates of the courts; so heavy that it was difficult for twenty men to shut it, having bolts fastened very deep in the floor; about midnight opened of its own accord. It was with great labor shut again. The ignorant believed this was a sign of God’s opening to them the gate of happiness, but those better instructed interpreted it as showing that “the security of their holy house was dissolved of its own accord, and that the gate was opened for the advantage of their enemies.” They publicly proclaimed this.
A few days after this feast, chariots and soldiers in bright armor were seen fighting in the clouds, besieging cities, and the temple was lighted with sudden flashes of fire from the clouds. At the feast of Pentecost, when the priests were going by night into the inner court to perform their ministrations, they felt a quaking and a great movement, as though people were departing, and heard a loud noise, after which they heard voices as of a multitude saying, “Let us remove hence.”
Four years before the war began, when the city was enjoying “great peace and prosperity,” in the midst of the feast of tabernacles, one Jesus, the son of Ananus, of the common people, and a husbandman, suddenly began his fearful cry: “A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the holy house; a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against the whole people!” Everywhere through the lanes of the city this was his wild and melancholy cry, by day and by night.
The authorities, indignant at him, arrested him, and beat him very severely. He did not remonstrate with them; never referred to himself or to them (a worthy example for those who are doing the Lord’s work), but continued his lamentations. The rulers took him to the Roman procurator, where he was whipped “till his bones were laid bare;” yet he shed no tears; he did not speak of himself, but at every stroke of the whip his cry was, “Woe, woe to Jerusalem!”
He made no reply when questioned by Albinus, the procurator, as to his name, whence he came, or the reason of his strange conduct, but went on as before, till Albinus released him as insane. This cry was loudest at the festivals. For four years and five months he ceased not, never tiring or growing hoarse; neither retaliating upon those who abused him, or thanking those who fed him, till one day, during the siege, as he was going his rounds on the wall, after exclaiming with his utmost strength, “Woe, woe to the city again, and to the people, and to the holy house!” he added, for the first and last time, “Woe, woe to myself also!” when a stone from an engine hit him and killed him instantly.
“Surely the Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7. But the “blind” cannot see. They ignored all the predictions and signs of impending destruction. Yet Jerusalem and her temple, “the most beautiful structure that was ever built,” perished; while her unfaithful children proved the wrath of Him who had in former years wrought so wonderfully for their prosperity. So “sure” is the word of prophecy.
Dear reader, if the retrospect has been painful, it is to be hoped that it will not be entirely unprofitable. We learn from the timely escape of every one of God’s humble, believing ones, that “the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly.” “Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” 1 Pet. 4:19. The history also teaches us that “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” If he wrote “bitter things” against the Jewish church, apostatized, how will it be with the fallen Christian church? The intensity of their suffering was measured by the degree of divine light and favor which they had abused or neglected; then how much more fearful must be the punishment of the professed people of God who enjoy the much greater light and privileges of to-day!
Even the miseries of Jerusalem can bear but a faint comparison to that awful time when the seven angels pour out the last plagues on the earth. Rev. 16. Poor sinner and lukewarm professor! you will want a shelter in that day from “the judgment and fiery indignation that shall devour the adversaries.” Then “to-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” A little longer Jesus pleads with the very same yearning love that he had for Jerusalem when he looked upon her for the last time before his crucifixion. A keen sense of ingratitude and unrequited love, with a view of her dreadful doom in the near future, shook his frame with sobs and tears!
A little while the Holy Spirit lingers to help you! God himself is regarding you with a beseeching tenderness that can best be measured by the gift of his dearly beloved Son. He has called to you in every way,—by blessings; no doubt by trials; by his judgments that are abroad in the land; by all the promises of good and threatenings of evil (the receiver of each will find that the half was not told him); by prophecy fulfilling all around us, and the signs of the soon-coming most fearful day of Judgment. Days and years he has patiently borne, constantly working for the good of one who always forgot him. Oh! the love of God! And still he pleads, “Why will ye die?”

THE POWER OF PRAYER

By Dr. Croly

Hast thou climbed ambition's height, Man of genius, man of might, Seeing, from thy lofty seat, All life's storms beneath thy feet, Empire spread before thine eye, Homage, fear, and flattery? Amid the sounds that meet thee there, Kneel, and seek the power of prayer!
Hast thou, in life's loneliest vale, Seen thy patient labors fail, Felt ill-fortune's daily thrill Waste thine energy of will? Yet, without revenge or hate, Wouldst thou stand the stroke of fate? Wouldst thou bear as man should bear? Kneel, and seek the power of prayer!
Hast thou, man of intellect, Seen thy soaring spirit checked, Struggling in the righteous cause, Champion of God's slighted laws,— Seen the slave or the supine Win the prize that should be thine? Wouldst thou scorn, and wouldst thou spare? Kneel, and seek the power of prayer!
—Dr. Croly, in Literary Microcosm.

The True Motive.

By M. C. Wilcox

BY ELD. M. C. WILCOX.
Said a member of the Baptist Church, as I was talking with him on the subject of the Sabbath, “Yes; it is true there is no Bible Sabbath but the seventh-day, and when I think I cannot be saved without it, I will keep it.” What an excuse! Will do just what I must do; just enough to save self, that is all. Does this show any real gratitude to God? Is not the motive thoroughly selfish? What if our Saviour had acted from such a motive? Man would have been eternally lost, not one ray of light or hope would have pierced the depths of his dark despair.
Did our Saviour gain anything in coming to this world? Did he “become poor” for his own sake? Did he suffer that he might reign? Did he die that he might live? Did he do all these things because he must do them to enjoy the favor of his Father? No; his motive was altogether an unselfish one. This world in its sinful state could have been blotted out of existence, and he lost nothing. It was and is in his power to create millions more. “He became poor that we might be rich;” he suffered that we might reign; he died that we might live. “For even Christ pleased not himself.” It was his infinite love that prompted him to do what he did for fallen man, the infinite compassion for the race fallen in sin. A selfish policy may be a motive power to a worldling, but a Christian never ought to entertain such a motive for an instant when a plain duty is set before him.
We are prone to pity an individual who makes such an excuse as the one I have mentioned; but is it not true, brethren and sisters, that the same selfish feelings sometimes prompt us? Instead of honestly inquiring, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” does not self often change the inquiry to, “Lord, what can I get rid of doing, and still be saved?” Would we do God's will wholly, if we knew everything he commanded was not necessary to our soul's salvation? Do we neglect health reform, knowing it is right? Does not a wrong principle cherished in our hearts prove our ruin. One wrong motive may ruin our souls at last. God's injunctions, admonitions and commandments are all all-important. They may seem to be of small importance in our eyes, but their consequences are eternal. Upon obedience or transgression rests our salvation or perdition. We are not forming reputations for time, we are forming characters for eternity.
God has given us great light on plainness, simplicity of dress, and do you, my sister, regard this of such small importance that it does not make much difference whether you walk in the light or not? Is it not true that if you thought you would really lose your souls by not doing it, you would do it?
Is it the same with you, my brother, in regard to the tithing system? Is this our motive? Our actions reveal that it is. Paul says, “The love of Christ constraineth me,” and if we really loved God, and had true gratitude to him, we would not ask whether our soul's salvation depended upon our obedience or transgression; but, Is it God's will? “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do,” would be our earnest inquiry.
Dear brethren and sisters, eternity is just before us. The great Investigative Judgment is going on. Hearts and motives are being weighed in the sure balances of Heaven. We have no time to trifle. The fulfillment or neglect of duty, the bearing or shunning of crosses, are indicators of our hearts, and truly reveal what dwells there. What is the motive that is actuating me? Brethren and sisters, what are your motives? May it be with each of us, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do.” May the “love of Christ” constrain us.

Bible Societies

By A. Smith

The Wonders of a Century.—No. 5.

BY A. SMITH.

Bible Societies.

In 1777, long before the first Bible society in the world had been organized, the first Congress of the United States performed the functions of such an institution by appointing a committee on the subject of printing an edition of ten thousand Bibles for the use of the people; and the committee reporting that it was difficult to procure the necessary material for printing, Congress provided for the importation of twenty thousand English Bibles from Europe at the public expense. In 1781, the war with Great Britain interfering with the importation of the Bibles, Congress again considered the subject of printing an edition; and passed the following resolution, recommending one printed by Mr. Robert Aitken of Philadelphia:—
“Resolved, That the United States, in Congress assembled, highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interests of religion, and being satisfied of the care and accuracy of the execution of the work, recommend this edition to the inhabitants of the United States.”
Elias Boudinot, a barrister of considerable political influence in the time of the Revolution, and who at the close of the war, being president of Congress, as such signed the treaty of peace that secured American independence, was a man of ardent piety, and devoted to the study of the Scriptures. In 1815 he was chosen president of the New Jersey Bible Society, the first society of its kind in the country, and published a notice of a general meeting to be convened at New York City, May 11, 1816, for the purpose of instituting a national society of this kind. The convention organized the American Bible Society and very appropriately elected Mr. Boudinot as its first president.
The British and Foreign Bible Society, the first of its kind known in the world, was organized at London, England, in March, 1804. In connection with the American Bible Society, subsequently established, it has exerted an influence that has resulted in the formation of like institutions in other nations, and in the organization of branch societies all over the world,thus furnishing every nation and people with the word of God in their own tongue, which, like the sun in his meridian splendor, permeates the darkness of the earth with the effulgence of its rays.

Respect of Persons.

By James Sawyer

BY JAMES SAWYER.
“To have respect of persons is not good; for a piece of bread that man will transgress.” Prov. 28:21.
The wise man here reasons from cause to effect. He infers that some principle has been violated, and hence there must be a corresponding result; the conduct is affected, and the end is transgression under a small temptation. He lays it down as a proposition that has been fully demonstrated, that there is a principle of fraternal courtesy that cannot be overlooked. He says, substantially, that the man who shows a preference for persons stands in danger of falling, and becoming the easy prey of Satan.
The Holy Spirit does not seem to confine this principle to any one class of individuals. Whether learned, or rich, or poor, he who will not accord to his fellows the right of courteous recognition to which they are entitled, will ere long become unworthy to be intrusted with small matters. “For for a piece of bread that man will transgress.” “To have respect of persons is not good.”
One definition of the term “respect,” is to esteem highly. We show our respect to God when we worship him. To have respect for God and one another calls into action one of the highest faculties of the human mind. If a man strive to avoid giving offense to the humblest of God’s creatures, from a desire to avoid inflicting pain, he thus brings into action this high faculty of mind.
But the term, “to have respect of persons,” as set forth in this proverb, must have a peculiar signification, which may be determined by comparing it with other scriptures. The idea of partiality seems to be involved in its use. We read, “It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.” Prov. 24:23. This, of course, allows circumstances to be equal, and we may judge people by their merits, and not from outward appearances. The apostle James sets the matter in a clear light: “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come into your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment, and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool; are ye not partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?” James 2:1–4. Here, then, we have the right definition of the term, “to have respect of persons:” it is to be partial.
This principle in society gives aristocracy its rigid selfishness, causes the rich to despise the poor, makes the professor of religion a Pharisee, and turns the church of Christ into a weak and imbecile body. We sometimes find the same principle in the public school. There are teachers who are disposed to be partial toward the children of the wealthy. Being better clothed than those of the poor, or possessing more brilliant talents and clearer intellectual faculties, they prefer to help them; while the dull and backward pupils are neglected, because it requires patient labor and ingenious planning to get them deeply interested. How many pupils have been grieved to the heart as they saw this preference shown to their fellow-students. This is very cruel. A teacher who would do this, would, if the circumstances were favorable, be turned from his integrity by a small temptation. “For for a piece of bread that man will transgress,” says Solomon; and he understood human nature pretty well.
Again, we meet this development of selfishness in the social world. In the Old World, society has fixed castes; and the New World is fast approaching the social state of imperial Rome, under whose sway the distinction of classes was almost intolerable to the poor. Crowned with riches and honor, mankind are in all ages in danger of despising the poor.
On pages 5, 6, of Geikies’ Life of Christ, we find the following in relation to society in the time of our Saviour:—
“The slave before Christ came was a piece of property of less worth than land or cattle. An old Roman law enacted the penalty of death for him who killed a plowing ox, but the murderer of a slave was called to no account whatever. . . . The poor were in almost as bad a plight as the slave. ‘How can you possibly let yourself down so low as not to repel a poor man from you with scorn?’ is the question of a rhetorician of the imperial times of Rome, to a rich man. No one of the thousands of rich men in Rome ever conceived the notion of founding an asylum for the poor, or a hospital for the sick. There were herds of beggars. Seneca, a noted writer, says that most men carefully avoided all contact with a beggar. Among the Jews the poor were thought to be justly bearing the penalty of some sin of their own or their fathers.”
The spirit of Christ set this matter in a different light altogether. “I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”
Society is made up of the educated and the ignorant, the rich and the poor; and while each has his proper place to fill, it does not follow that the more favored should ignore the relations existing between themselves and their neighbors. So sure as a man does this, the frown of God will rest upon him. When he begins to say in his heart, and by his actions, “I am holier than you; you are my inferior in both intellect and position,” and forgets to show the courtesy which should be extended to each member of the human family, then is that person in danger of forgetting his God, and he will transgress for some trifling excuse. Such a person’s mind has become degenerated, his organ of veneration has been perverted; and it matters not how high the position he occupies, in the sight of God he is an abomination.
The same principle is also illustrated in the political world. How many statesmen who once bade fair to defend the rights of their fellow-men, have stranded their ship of state upon some shoal of party. They succumbed to a money power. They panted after the favor of someinfluential organization. They were willing to take a bribe. They became partial because of the almighty dollar. They courted the favor of the strong at the expense of the weak. They helped the strong become stronger; they excluded philanthropy and charity, and introduced a prelude to Nihilism and ruin.
Let us not say this picture is overdrawn. This spirit of Nihilism is coming in like a flood. It is driving millions to find a refuge in the New World. Men cannot endure to be crushed under the iron rule of despotism which pervades the kingdoms of the East. They have heard the sound of liberty, and eagerly throng our shores. But even on this Western soil they soon find the aristocratic spirit in gigantic proportions. They see the masses separating. The rich are becoming very rich. The poor are becoming very poor. The capitalist is found almost universally bringing the laborer into hostile relations. Feelings of envy arise, and the laborers unite to resist the aggressions of the large corporations. Strikes are the result. All parties and classes are laboring to protect themselves. In this state of things it is easy, as one can see, for the spirit of partiality to increase greatly. The soil is rightly prepared for a rank growth of caste and selfishness among men.
The church are in danger of drinking in the same spirit. The words of Christ should guard them in this hour of temptation: “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” He referred to the very age in which we are living. The apostle James refers to this spirit of partiality which will be found working even in the church just before the coming of the Lord. He says, “But ye have despised the poor.” He shows them that this is a mean spirit, akin to blasphemy, and states that rich men oppress them in the same manner: “Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? . . . . But if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.” This agrees with what Solomon said on the same subject.
We know that some are naturally more gifted than others, and hence are our superiors; but this does not permit Christians to foster an egotistical and overbearing spirit. We are to love as brethren. There is order in Heaven and there should be order on earth, but love should permeate every member of the body of Christ.
The poet has clearly illustrated this subject:—
“Order is Heaven’s first law, and, this confessed, Some are and must be greater than the rest; But whoso’er infers that such are better, Shocks common-sense in spirit and in letter.”
If we are followers of Christ, we shall have sympathy for others. He can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. If we have his spirit, we can never treat with coldness and indifference any for whom he died. We should remember the words of our Master on this subject: “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in Heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in Heaven.”

The Entrance of Thy Word Giveth Light

“The entrance of thy word giveth light.” - Ps. 119:130.

SUNDAY-SCHOOLS

The first Sunday-school in the world was organized by Robert Raikes at Gloucester, England, in 1784. At the same time, Mr. William Fox, of London, was deliberating a plan for the universal education of the poor. Hearing of Mr. Raikes' attempt, he opened a correspondence with him to learn his mode of procedure; through him, and the influence of the Baptist society, of which Mr. Fox was a member, a public meeting was called for Aug. 10, 1785, when was formed the London Sunday-school Society "for the establishment and support of Sunday-schools throughout Great Britain." The American Sunday-school Union was organized at Philadelphia May, 1824.
Not a century has passed since the first Sunday-school originated in the benevolent enterprise of a pious Englishman; and now nearly every Christian church and destitute neighborhood, supplied with the efficient means of instruction from the Bible in the form of a Sabbath or Sunday-school.

The Cross and the Storm

— Who wears the cross prays oft and well; Bruised herbs send forth the sweetest smell; Were ships ne'er tossed by stormy wind, The pole star who would care to find? Had David spent no darksome hours, The sweetest songs had not been ours.

It Wouldn't Work.

By George E. Fifield

BY GEO. E. FIFIELD.
Men who profess to believe the Bible, and yet reject its plainest teachings, often appear to the world but little more than absurdity personified. A Methodist minister of this place—Granville, Iowa—while reviewing us on the Sabbath question, undertook to tell what God meant when he said, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” etc. He said, “All God can possibly require by that commandment, is that we keep only one-seventh part of time. ‘Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind’ which day he will keep.” That very week, one of his members was “fully persuaded” to keep the seventh day, and consequently did so, supposing he was following the directions of last Sunday’s sermon; but alas! the rule wouldn’t work.
Very soon, the class-leader came around, and told him that he must either stop working on Sunday or stand a church trial.
He requested a letter, which was promptly refused. In vain he urged that he had carefully followed the instructions of his minister with reference to keeping the seventh part of time; and also that he had been “fully persuaded” which seventh part to keep. They told him he had violated the Discipline. “Very well,” said he, “then the minister did as bad by preaching against the Discipline.” But all was in vain; it wouldn’t work. The letter was refused, and he withdrew from the church.

The True Test.

It is not, “What think ye of Christians?” but What think ye of Christ? that puts men to the best. Scattered through our towns and cities are many persons who have a personal grudge against some professing Christian, which they make an excuse for keeping aloof from religion. Some of these very persons once professed religion, but a business difficulty or a dispute of some kind with a Christian neighbor has led them to make shipwreck concerning the faith. They look to Christians, not to Christ, and hence their failure. They make what some man did to them of more importance than what Christ has done for them. It is evident that Christ is not their Lord and Master.

A DREAM.

By Eliza H. Morton

BY ELIZA H. MORTON.
The day had been a round of taxing toil, Uncheered by sympathy of kindred heart, And marred by clouds of evil that hung o'er All heads, and threatened to obscure the light Of truth. Though many thronged around, yet all Seemed wrapt in self, and cold and distant as The gleaming mountain tops, far, far away; And worn and weary, sick at heart, and sad, I sought my couch to find in sleep a blest Forgetfulness of all life's cares, a glad Relief from sight and sound of that which tends To vex and grieve the soul. I closed my eyes; And music filled the air with thrilling waves Of tender, soul-subduing harmony. A gentle voice whispered within my ear: “Discouraged one, arise and look upon The work of God on earth as seen on high,” And, lo! a shining chain, made up of links Of richest, purest gold, lay on a bed Of snowy lilies, wet with sparkling dew; And then the voice spake once again in tones Of tenderness: “Faint not, O troubled heart! The Master knoweth all thy fears, and bids Thee courage take; his truth will stand, though men May prove untrue, and Satan and his hosts Exult o'er wrong. This chain is symbol of The saints of God, united by the death Of his dear Son, and fitted for the life Immortal, that he gives. These links were tried By fire, and tested oft by many a blow. These lilies represent the hearts of those Who, ’mid the filth and scum of earth, can yet Send down their roots below it all, and rise Above the mire, shedding sweet fragrance all Around.”
The music died away, and I Awoke, resolved to live a nobler life, To shrink away from self and selfish thoughts, To strive to do my work, and do it well, Seeking each day to help some heart to bear Its burden, and to speak a kindly word Of cheer to those in need of help, and thus Forget my loneliness, and longings for Loved friends, and home, and pleasures far away.
Battle Creek, Mich.

The Spirit of Nihilism.

THE NEW YORK Observer of Jan. 12 contains an article by a minister, in which he gives “the story of a sermon, and what came of it.” It seems that sometime before the death of President Garfield, this minister had made the act of the assassin the subject of a sermon, and in this sermon had taken the position that Guiteau was not insane, but that the motive that actuated him was a political one, and was in spirit and purpose identical with that of the Nihilists. Quotations were given to show the lawless character of Nihilism,—a character with which the readers of the REVIEW are well acquainted,—and then the minister proceeded to show that the same spirit is at work in our own country. “Nihilism,” he says, “has many branches from the same root. To change the figure, the host of Satan has many divisions, operating upon separate features of our institutions, but by the natural affinity of evil they may all yet unite in a common attack upon Christian civilization.”
This sermon was sent to a Catholic who had long been one of the minister’s valued friends, a man of far more than ordinary ability and culture, and who was the delight of many circles of Catholics and Protestants united. It never occurred to the author that there was anything in the sermon that could offend a Catholic. What was his surprise, then, on receiving a reply in which, while agreeing with the darkest picture presented respecting the state of society, he ascribed it all to the influence of Protestant principles, emphasizing the danger of “private interpretation of the Sacred Word,” and asserting that the remedy is “to return to authority.” He closed with the remarkable proposition: “To protest is negation, and negation is Nihilism, when carried to its ultimate point.”
Commenting on this, the author of the sermon says:—
This reveals the hidden dangers by which we are all surrounded. We are associating on terms of friendly intercourse with those whose whole being, body, soul, and spirit, is in the most abject unquestioning slavery to another’s will. It is Nihilism with a vengeance. It annihilates every possible obligation that can be laid on a human soul, except obedience to the will of a single man; and that may be, not the pope alone, but any other man who as a priest can persuade others that he speaks by authority of the church. Law, public and private morality, reason, conscience, social ties, bonds of affection, must give way, one and all, to one who speaks by authority of the church—a priest.
The most dangerous spirit of the Papacy, which many supposed was dead, breathes its old fierceness again, and claims which were thought to be obsolete, are set forth with all the old arrogance. The charges that Protestantism is responsible for all the crimes and infidelity of our times, are made with an insolence and persistency that proves a settled purpose, and how many may ere long awake from a false security to find that those in whom they have confided as friends, have been taught by authority to regard them as belonging to a company of heretics who are polluting and destroying the world, pushing society on into the horrors of Nihilism. The writer of my letter has reached that point. The next step, a very short one, leads to approval of the dungeon and the stake.
A great danger, little thought of I fear, lies in the fact that the Catholic papers and magazines abound in such teachings, and in the most ferocious attacks upon Protestants and ridicule of their principles and practices; and while scorn and hatred are thus kindled and cherished among Catholics, these and other evil influences find their way into Protestant communities also, and are scarcely met with rebuke or denial there. Our secular papers are mostly silent from political motives, and the New York Observer stands almost alone among our religious journals in giving the proper warning. Persistent, audacious assertion, met by no corresponding denial to match it, no suitable setting forth of truth to oppose the falsehood, is doing its pernicious work.
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