Signs of the Times, Vol. 5, No. 11. (3/13/1879)

Signs of the Times

Mar 13, 1879

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Mar 13, 1879

General Articles.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

The Scripture Doctrine of a Future Life.--No. 9.

SCRIPTURAL MEANING OF HELL.

Eld. D. M. Canright.

The overthrow of Korah and his company bears directly upon this point. Thus Moses says, "But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit [sheol]; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord. And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them. And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit [sheol] and the earth closed upon them; and they perished from among the congregation. Num. 16:30-33. Notice that the earth opened her mouth and this company went down into the earth alive. Their houses, their clothing, their bodies, everything pertaining to them, went down into sheol. Sheol, then, is not an immaterial spirit land, but is down in the earth.

Ezekiel's testimony is decisive; he is speaking of the overthrow of certain heathen nations. Of their fall he says, "For they are all delivered into death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit. Thus saith the Lord God; In the day when he went down to the grave [sheol] I caused a mourning. I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were staid; and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him; and, all the trees of the field fainted for him. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell [sheol] with them that descend into the pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth. They also went down into hell [sheol] with him, unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen." Ezek. 31:14-17.

Again he says, "The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell [sheol] with them that help him; they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword. Asshur is there and all her company; his graves are about him; all of them slain, fallen by the sword;" Chap. 32:21, 22.

Notice that these mighty men have gone down into sheol, slain with the sword, that they lie there uncircumcised. Thus he describes their condition in sheol: "And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell [sheol] with their weapons of war; and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living." Verse 27.

Thus it will be seen that the dead warriors in sheol lie there with their weapons of war under their heads. Sheol, therefore, is certainly a material place.

4. Beasts go into sheol at death. Thus the Psalmist says, "Like sheep they are laid in the grave [sheol], death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave [sheol] from their dwelling." Ps. 49:14.

It will be seen that the Psalmist assumes that beasts go into sheol as though it were an unquestioned fact. Sheol is a place, then, where beasts go as well as men. Here we are shown, to the astonishment and disgust, no doubt, of our Platonic divines and thinkers, that, according to Scripture, beasts go at death to sheol. What is this sheol? Is there an invisible world of ghost animals? Have we not only a nether world where the ghosts of all the men, women, and children who have ever lived are wandering about in possession of their ghostly life; but have we also a nether world where are ghost elephants, ghost horses, ghost sheep, and ghost dogs? What will our immortal soul friends do or say when they find themselves supporting such a theory as this?

5. The soul goes to sheol at death. David came near dying and the Lord healed him, and rescued him from death. "O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave [sheol]; thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit." Ps. 30:2, 3.

If the Lord had not kept him alive, his soul would have gone into sheol. In fact the Psalmist asserts that there is not a man living who can save his soul from sheol? "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave [sheol]?" Ps. 89:48. That is to say, just as certain as every man will see death, so his soul will go into sheol. Once more, "For great is thy mercy toward me; and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell [sheol]." Ps. 86:13. And again, "But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave [sheol]; for he shall receive me." Ps. 49:15.

The case of Hezekiah proves the same fact. He had been very sick, and the Lord had said he should die; but in mercy he spared his life fifteen years longer. Then this good man returned thanks to God in the following language: "Behold, for peace I had great bitterness; but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. For the grave [sheol] cannot praise thee; death cannot celebrate thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth." Isa. 38:17, 18.

If the Lord had not spared his soul he would have gone into the pit of corruption--into sheol.

The soul of our Saviour was taken out of sheol by his resurrection from the dead. Thus Peter says, "He, seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell [hades], neither his flesh did see corruption." Acts 2:31. If the Lord had not raised him, his soul would have been left in sheol, or hades. Comp. Ps. 16:10.

6. Sheol is a place of worms and of darkness. We are not left to guess as to what kind of a place sheol is. Inspiration has described it. If men cannot tell, God certainly knows how it is in sheol. Here is an inspired description of it: "If I wait, the grave [sheol] is mine house; I have made my bed in the darkness. I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister. And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it? They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust." Job 17:13-16. This testimony is very decisive. Sheol was to be his house. When he shall awake

to go to dwell in that house he says he shall make his bed in darkness. And then he says that corruption and the worms shall surround him, and he will rest in the dust. No amount of dodging can evade the force of this text.

Sheol is a place of corruption, worms, and darkness. And so the prophet Isaiah describes it, "Thy pomp is brought down to the grave [sheol], and the noise of thy viols; the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee." Isa. 14:11. Here it will be seen that when a man goes down into sheol, the worms are spread under him, and crawl over him. Who, then, can doubt what kind of a place sheol is.

7. The realm of sheol was dreaded by all the inspired servants of God. It is no wonder that the ancient people of God had a great horror and dread of sheol. They regarded it as the king of terrors. They looked upon it with aversion and fear. They wept and mourned at the thought of going there, and they gave most hearty thanks to God when they were delivered from it. It was represented as being cruel, thus: "Jealousy is cruel as sheol." Song 8:6. Says a late learned author, "Notice the wail of the believer in the ancient dispensation when he contemplated going into this dark, silent, lifeless state of hades. . . . Did David imagine he would be alive in hades? No, he knew that he would not. He knew that when he went, as he knew he must, to that land, he went to a land of utter silence and of utter darkness. "In hades" [sheol], he said in one of his inspired songs, "who shall give thee thanks?" Ps. 6:5. He knew, and tells us, that none would. Hades, p. 108, by Rev. M. Constable.

8. The wicked are silent in sheol. David says, "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." Ps. 115:17. From these declarations it is very evident that every thing is silence and darkness in the sheol. No one praises the Lord there. The following declaration upon this point is plain. "For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in the grave [sheol] who shall give thee thanks?" Ps. 6:5. Yes, who shall give thanks in sheol? The implied answer is, No one can. For it is not a place of knowledge. And so thought good king Hezekiah, as we have seen, when he said, "Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption." Then he gives the reason why,--"For sheol cannot praise thee; death cannot celebrate thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day." Isa. 38:17-19. Who can fail to see the force of these Scriptures? Every candid reader must admit that they represent sheol as a place utterly void of thought or knowledge.

9. There is no knowledge in sheol. We are now prepared for the positive statements of inspiration that there is no knowledge of any kind in the gloomy realms of sheol. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave [sheol] whither thou goest." Eccl. 9:10. This is so plain that a child cannot fail to see it. It utterly precludes all idea of any kind of consciousness for any one in any part of sheol. Where do the Scriptures ever once speak of sheol with its inhabitants as a place of light, life, or intelligence? Every description of it is the very opposite of that. And yet this is the land where the whole man goes, soul and body.

10. All that go into sheol remain there till the resurrection. This is evident from the following language of Job: "As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away; so he that goeth down to the grave [sheol] shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more." Job 7:9, 10. He does not mean that they will never come up, but that they shall never come back in this life; for he explains further on: "But man dieth and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and dryeth up; So man lieth down, and riseth not; till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake nor be raised out of their sleep. O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave [sheol] that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time and remember me! If a man die shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come." Job 14:10-14.

Here he explains what he means. He expected to go to sheol and remain there till the Lord should call him, and bring him up. This shows that in the gloomy realms of sheol lie all the sons and daughters of Adam, whether good or bad. Death reigns over them. The light never reaches them. Not a word of praise ever escapes their silent lips. All cold, silent, and unconscious, they lie there with the ponderous gates of sheol closed upon them. Death's remorseless reign is complete.

11. Sheol delivers up all the dead at the resurrection. This is the only hope of the child of God. Death reigns now, but there is coming a day of deliverance. Jesus has the keys of sheol, and he has promised to come and unlock its gloomy doors, and bring out the pale nations of the dead. The Lord through the ancient prophet said, "I will ransom them from the power of the grave [sheol]; I will redeem them from death. O grave [sheol], I will be thy destruction; repentance shall be hid from mine eyes." Hos. 13:14.

Here the Lord represents sheol as an enemy, one whom he had sworn to destroy. "I will ransom them from the power of sheol." "O sheol, I will be thy destruction." This is the promise of the Almighty. Sheol, then, must deliver up by and by. And so the revelator says, "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [hades or sheol] delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell [hades or sheol] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Rev. 20:13, 14.

Not only will the sea give up its dead, not only will death release its claim, but sheol will surrender all its captives at the summons of Him who holds the keys of sheol, at the resurrection morn; and sheol itself will be destroyed in the lake of fire.

Paul describes the same event. He says that when the Lord shall come, and the last trump shall sound; and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, "Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O hades [sheol] where is thy victory?" 1 Cor. 15:54, 55. So from beginning to end sheol is represented as a dreaded enemy, a victorious foe, who remorselessly swallows up the saints of God, and holds them in his gloomy realms till the resurrection shall rescue them from his power. This, dear reader, is the plain, simple teaching of Inspiration concerning this important subject.

OBJECTIONS TO THE SLEEP OF THE DEAD, ANSWERED.

We have now produced an abundance of Scripture and reason showing that the dead are asleep; yet some people will never be satisfied, however plain the subject is made, until we have answered certain objections which they have in their minds. Hence as we wish to be candid, and thoroughly investigate the subject, we most gladly take up the prominent passages which are always relied upon as proving the conscious state of the dead. We will notice them in the order as they come in the Bible.

First Objection--Rachel's Soul. "And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died,) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin." Gen. 35:18. It is claimed that this passage shows that the soul is conscious after the death of the body. Her soul departed. The answer to this is short and easy. Granting that the soul lives after the death of the body, this does not say that it was conscious, that it knew anything, that it went to Heaven or anything of that kind. But what was it that departed? Her soul departed. Turning to the original Hebrew, we find that the word for soul is nephesh. It is thus defined by Hebrew Lexicons. "1. Breath; 2. life; 3. the vital principle in animal bodies." Thus it will be seen that it was simply her life that was departing. The original Greek term is psuchee, and is thus defined by Greenfield: "Breath; life, i. e. the animal soul, principle of life, life, i.e. state of being alive, existence, spoken of natural life." In dying, her life departed. Thus a proper understanding of these terms removes all difficulty in this case.

Second objection.--"And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived." 1 Kings 17:22. It is claimed from this again that the soul lives separate from the body. It departed from the body, and came back to it. The answer to the previous passage is the answer to this also, for the case is similar. A child died; his life departed from him. The prophet of God prayed, his life came into him, he revived and lived. The meaning of the word soul here is life, the same as in the chapter previously examined.

Third Objection -- The spirit returns to God. "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Eccl. 12:7.

This is one of the texts most frequently quoted by our opponents. From this they assume that the spirit immediately goes to Heaven where it lives like an angel in all the bliss of Paradise. But let us look carefully. Notice; if this proves that the spirit of the righteous goes to Heaven, it proves the same for the wicked, for the declaration stands true for both. So this would prove universal salvation. But look carefully. The dust returns to the earth as it was. To return is to go back to a previous condition or place; to go where it was before. At death the body returns to the dust, as it was, and "the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Now the declaration is that at death both elements of man, dust and the spirit, return to where they were before the man lived. The dust returns to dust and the spirit goes to God. Then the spirit at death goes back to the place from which it came at the birth of man. We ask, therefore, did the spirit of man exist in Heaven as a conscious being before it into this body? You appeal to our readers,--did your spirits live in Heaven as angels before you were born on this earth? You smile at the idea. You know that it is not so. Not one of you believes it. Then you see that this text proves what? Simply that the spirit returns to the very condition in which it was before birth. That was an unconscious condition, it is sure. Hence our opponents have chosen the wrong text this time to prove their theory. It says nothing about the spirit going to Heaven. It simply says that it returns to God who gave it. Where is it proved that God brought the spirit down from Heaven, when he put it into the body? He made man of the earth. The original Hebrew term here used for spirit is roo-agh, the very same that is used in Eccl. 3:19, and there translated breath. "Yea, they have all one breath;" and also in scores of other places it is translated breath. When a man dies, his body returns to dust, and the breath, or life which God gave returns to the source from whence God took it, the vital air.

These are the passages in the Old Testament claimed by our opponents as proving the conscious state of the dead. The reader will see that they are very easily explained. No one of them says that the dead are conscious or that any go to Heaven at death, or anything of the kind.

TIRED.

By Eliza H. Morton

How oft the limbs grow weak, the cheeks turn pale! The temples throb with pain and spirits fail! How oft the weary feet, long for repose! How oft the lips cry out! God only knows. Each soul a portion has, of grief and care; To all a task is given, to do and bear. Tho' "heart and flesh do fail," the One above, Will strength impart, and show His tender love. And tho' the body sink into the grave, All worn with toil and woe, Jesus will save, In resurrection morn the saints will rise, With songs, and joy, and bliss, and glad surprise. O peace divine! draw near, O welcome guest! Ye tired eyes look up, in Christ there's rest. Allen's Corner, Me. ELIZA H. MORTON.

THE GREAT CONTROVERSY

By Ellen G. White

BETWEEN CHRIST AND HIS ANGELS AND SATAN AND HIS ANGELS.

CHAPTER SEVEN—CONCLUDED.

THE FLOOD.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

The entire surface of the earth was changed at the flood. A third dreadful curse now rested upon it in consequence of man's transgression. The beautiful trees and flowering shrubbery were destroyed, but Noah preserved seed and took it with him into the ark, and God by his miraculous power preserved a few of the different kinds of trees and shrubs alive for future generations. Soon after the flood, trees and plants seemed to spring out of the very rocks. In God's providence, seeds had been scattered and driven into the crevices of the rocks, and there securely hidden for the future use of man.

As the waters abated from the earth, the mountains and hills appeared in a broken, rough condition, and all around them was a sea of roiled water or soft mud. In the time of the flood, the people, and the beasts also, gathered to the highest points of land, and as the waters disappeared, dead bodies were left upon the mountains and hills, as well as on the plains. The surface of the earth was strewn with the bodies of men and beasts. But God would not have these remain to decompose and pollute the atmosphere, therefore he made of the earth a vast burying ground. He caused a powerful wind to pass over it for the purpose of drying up the waters, which moved them with great force, in some instances carrying away the tops of the mountains like mighty avalanches, forming hills and mountains where there were none to be seen before, and burying the dead bodies with trees, stones, and earth. The precious wood, stone, silver, and gold, that had made rich and adorned the world before the flood, and which the inhabitants had idolized, were sunk beneath the surface of the earth. The waters which had broken forth with such great power, had moved earth and rocks, and heaped them upon these treasures, and in many instances formed mountains above them to hide them from the sight and search of men. God saw that the more he enriched and prospered sinful man, the more he corrupted his way before him. The treasures which should have led man to glorify the bountiful giver, had been worshiped instead of God, while the giver had been rejected.

The beautiful, regular-shaped mountains had disappeared. Stones, ledges, and ragged rocks appeared upon some parts of the earth which were before out of sight. Where had been hills and mountains, no traces of them were visible. Where had been beautiful plains covered with verdure and lovely plants, hills and mountains were formed of stones, trees, and earth, above the bodies of men and beasts. The whole surface of the earth presented an appearance of disorder. Some portions were more disfigured than others. Where once had been earth's richest treasures of gold, silver, and precious stones, were seen the heaviest marks of the curse. And upon countries which were not inhabited, and those where there had been the least crime, the curse rested more lightly.

At the time of the flood, immense forests were torn up or broken down and buried in the earth. These have since petrified and become coal, which accounts for the large coal beds that are now found. This coal has produced oil. Large quantities of coal and oil frequently ignite and burn. Rocks are intensely heated, limestone is burned, and iron ore melted. Water and fire under the surface of the earth meet. The action of water upon the limestone adds fury to the intense heat, and causes earthquakes, volcanoes, and fiery issues. The action of fire and water upon the ledges of rocks and ore causes loud explosions which sound like muffled thunder. These wonderful exhibitions will be more numerous and terrible just before the second coming of Christ and the end of the world, as signs of its speedy destruction.

Coal and oil are generally to be found where there are no burning mountains or fiery issues. When fire and water under the surface of the earth meet, the fiery issues cannot give sufficient vent to the heated elements beneath. The earth is convulsed, the ground heaves, and rises into swells or waves, and there are heavy sounds like thunder under ground. The air is heated and suffocating. The earth quickly opens, and villages, cities, and burning mountains are carried down together into the earth.

God controls all these elements; they are his instruments to do his will; he calls them into action to serve his purpose. These fiery issues have been, and will be, his agents to blot out from the earth very wicked cities. Like Korah, Dathan and Abiram, they go down alive into the pit. These are evidences of God's power. Those who have beheld these burning mountains pouring forth fire and flame, and a vast amount of melted ore, drying up rivers and causing them to disappear, have been struck with terror at the grandeur of the scene. They have been filled with awe, as they beheld the infinite power of God.

These manifestations bear the special marks of God's power, and are designed to cause the people of the earth to tremble before him, and to silence those who, like Pharaoh, would proudly say, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?" Isaiah refers to these exhibitions of God's power where he exclaims, "Oh! that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, as when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence." Isa. 64:1-3.

"The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers. Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him." Nah. 1:3-6.

"Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them." Ps. 144:5, 6.

Greater wonders than have yet been seen will be witnessed by those upon the earth a short time previous to the coming of Christ. "And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke." "And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great." "And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great."

The bowels of the earth were the Lord's arsenal, from which he drew forth the weapons he employed in the destruction of the old world. Waters in the earth gushed forth, and united with the waters from heaven, to accomplish the work of destruction. Since the flood, God has used both water and fire in the earth as his agents to destroy wicked cities.

In the day of the Lord, just before the coming of Christ, God will send lightnings from heaven in his wrath, which will unite with fire in the earth. The mountains will burn like a furnace, and will pour forth terrible streams of lava, destroying gardens and fields, villages and cities; and as they pour their melted ore, rocks and heated mud, into the rivers, will cause them to boil like a pot, and send forth massive rocks, and scatter their broken fragments upon the land with indescribable violence. Whole rivers will be dried up. The earth will be convulsed, and there will be dreadful eruptions and earthquakes everywhere. God will plague the wicked inhabitants until they are destroyed from off the earth. But the saints will be preserved in the midst of these dreadful commotions, as Noah was preserved in the ark at the time of the flood.

The Book of Job.

By Thomas Carlyle

I CALL that, apart from all theories about it, one of the grandest things ever written with pen. One feels, indeed, as if it were not Hebrew; such a noble universality, different from noble patriotism or sectarianism, reigns in it. A noble book; all men's book! It is our first, oldest statement of the never-ending problem,—man's destiny, and God's ways with him here in this earth. And all in such free flowing outlines; grand in its sincerity, in its simplicity, in its epic melody, and repose of reconcilement. There is the seeing eye, the mildly understanding heart. So true everyway; true eyesight and vision for all things, material things no less than spiritual. Such living likenesses were never since drawn. Sublime sorrow, sublime reconciliation; oldest choral melody as of the heart of mankind,—so soft, and great; as the summer midnight, as the world with its seas and stars! There is nothing written, I think, in the Bible or out of it, of equal literary merit.—Carlyle.

Blessed Are They That Do His Commandments

“Blessed are they that do His commandments.”

Considerate Benevolence.

AN English church association in Manchester has hit upon an admirable device for relieving distress. The ladies purchase materials and cut out garments for distribution among the poor, and then hire needy women to make them at low wages. The sewing women work from 11 to 4, are given a good dinner and paid an English sixpence for a day's work. The advantage of this system of relieving the poor is that it brings them out of their own homes into a room which belongs to the ladies, and where the latter can exercise some beneficial influence upon the poor women whom they thus gather together. None but the really destitute care to work for such low wages, and the fact that they are thus willing to help themselves is proof that they are at least deserving of assistance. - G. A.

Have We a Message?

By Raymond F. Cottrell

FAR be it from us to boast, as if we were the especial favorites of Heaven, and were therefore endued with special powers and privileges; but we inquire whether God has in his providence and in the unfolding of his purposes, laid upon us the responsibility of a special message of truth. We know from his word that the advent messages must be given before the second advent of the Lord; and that event being unmistakably near, we look around for the fulfillment of these three messages. We find them exactly fulfilled in the great advent movement of the past and present, and can see their fulfillment in nothing else under the sun. So we are shut up to the conclusion that Adventists have been called of God to proclaim these messages; and, if so, the message on the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, being preached by Seventh-day Adventists, is the actual fulfillment of the third angel's message, which is the last warning to mankind before the great day of God's wrath. If this be so, a tremendous responsibility is laid upon us, but, indeed, is no cause of boasting. A solemn work is ours, and the danger of unfaithfulness is great.

But we can and must have unlimited confidence in the success of the work, and the salvation of those who prove faithful to the end.

There is no room left to doubt that the children of God will be gathered by this message and prepared as one to hail the advent of the Saviour with—"We have waited for him, and he will save us."

Who is sufficient for this work? Evidently no one. But God will give his Spirit to the humble and faithful, and the work will be done. R. F. Cottrell.

No Cavalry in This Army.

By G. A. N.

THE King's highway is for footmen. A great many start for Heaven in chariots like Elijah, but the scattered spokes, and broken rims, and splintered poles, and moth-eaten cushions, on the way and in the way, convince us that the attempt was unsuccessful. We read of none who drove safely over the track but Elijah, and his horses were trained for the occasion, and as soon as he mounted the chariot, he left the earth. An hour's drive on the ground would have torn it to pieces. How this pride-born but broken down Christianity does cumber the way! False professions and false theologies—this educated humanity and scientific salvation make the path rather rough. The breakdowns of eighteen centuries are great obstacles to the footman who is heavily burdened and sick and weary. No man has a right to obstruct the public highway. Hang out the signal light, and clear the track!

The soldiers of the cross belong to the infantry. They are "shod with the preparation of the Gospel," and they know nothing of cavalry tactics. The weapons with which they are armed and the orders given belong to the infantry. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "Walk before me, and be thou perfect." The command is heard repeated down the line by Isaiah, "Walk in the sight of the Lord." Ezekiel sends it along the column, "Walk in the ways I command you." John repeats it, "Walk in the light." Paul declares it again. "Let us walk by the same rule," and sometimes in haste he orders a double-quick and commands us to "Run the race set before us." None but an enemy would obstruct the way. Clear the track, the infantry are coming!

The cavalry may be expert in bringing on a battle, but when good, solid, fighting is expected, when a great engagement is had which settles momentous issues, the infantry are marched to the front. Mounted Christianity—the religion of high pretension and wide forage fields—may be worth something in covering a retreat, (provided our warfare ever contemplates such a movement,) but in the heat of battle, in contending for the faith, the life of the humble plodding footman must make the defense and win the victory.

These discussions about Evolution and Involution, about Transcendentalism and the Higher Life are simply skirmishes among the cavalry, or the harmless aerial engagements between the balloonists. Not holy talk, but holy living must sustain the truth and correct the creed. If you would destroy sin, whether it be in yourself or in another, you must aim low, for sin is a low thing, even when it is found in high places.

"The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea," but "He said unto the footman that stood about him, 'turn and stay.'" --G. A. N. in the Index.

Security in Subjection

THERE is more security in subjection than in authority.

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