Review and Herald, Vol. 48, No. 15. (10/12/1876)

Review and Herald

Oct 12, 1876

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 12, 1876

SAVING FAITH.

By J. O. Corliss

BY ELD. J. O. CORLISS.

TEXT: “Have faith in God.” Mark 11:22.

Faith is an attribute of the mind capable of being exercised toward different objects or enterprises, and is defined by Paul to be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. To illustrate: A gentleman calls on me and says, “I am come to bear good tidings to you. From an entailed estate in England, there has been deposited in the national bank at London fifty thousand dollars subject to your order,” and he names the deceased donor. With great surprise I reply: “Sir, I never saw the man whose name you mention, and did not dream that my name was known outside of my limited acquaintance; therefore, I conclude you must be altogether mistaken in the person. In short, I have no faith whatever in the message, but consider it an idle tale.” “But,” he replies, “I will convince you that I am not mistaken;” and he passes me papers with the same statement officially signed and sealed by the president of the bank. But before I can have faith, even in the document presented, I must be persuaded that it is genuine; I therefore make inquiry; and by so doing I learn that there is in London such a bank, the president of which bears the identical name attached to the writing.

This is all plain, yet I am not satisfied. Not being acquainted with the signature and seal used by the bank, I fear it may be a forgery; but upon getting a description of the seal of that corporation, and faithfully comparing it with the one on the paper, I find they agree in every particular, which is satisfactory evidence of its genuineness. Now, although I have not seen the money, nor even the bank where it is on deposit, yet I have good evidence it is there for me; and so exercise enough faith in the enterprise to say to my friends with a great deal of confidence, “I have a large sum of money in London which I soon expect to receive;” and I undertake the journey with a well-grounded hope of receiving the stipulated “substance.”

No one fails to see that just as soon as I have acquired genuine faith in the one who holds the deposit, I must of necessity have faith in the one through whom it came. Furthermore, it was impossible for me to gain faith in the latter without first having secured it in the former, and through his statement received evidence which generated faith in the latter.

So it is in divine things. God sends to us a message through his word that a large deposit has been left with him through the death of Christ for our benefit, subject to our will and order. But before we can be induced to apply to him for that benefit, we must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him; for no one would think of calling on another for a favor in whose existence he had no faith. But we have never seen God at any time, and how do we know that he exists?

David says: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.” Ps. 19:1, 2. Day and night, if we take time to consider the heavens, they will reveal to us that there is a first Great Cause. By day we behold the sun, independent of us, performing his regular circuit, reflecting light and heat upon all the world; while at night we may view the numberless fixed stars, which, we are told, are suns like our own, the centers of their respective systems. These, all moving in perfect order and harmony through the great ocean of space, declare to us the handiwork and glory of One infinitely above us in power and wisdom. They also reveal to a thoughtful mind that the law which holds them there, and governs them in their course year after year, is perfect, and could emanate only from a mind of the highest type of perfection; hence, law to govern the course of man, issuing from the same source, cannot be otherwise than perfect.

My watch lies before me. I take it in my hand to examine; and the first thing that excites my admiration is its peculiar construction, which adapts it to be carried in any position without affecting its motion. I examine the fine mechanism of its wheels, that gives it that regularity and precision of movement which mark with accuracy the exact minute, or even second; and I say, the man who made This had a fine mind, and was very ingenious. I see his handiwork, which reveals this, and I admire his skill and ingenuity; yet, because his name is not attached to his work, I have no possible way to ascertain it.

So by turning our eyes in the direction indicated by the psalmist, we see everything bearing the stamp of an all-wise, omnipotent, and pre-existent Creator. We admire his supreme wisdom and skill, and feel that he is worthy of our most profound love, and long to prostrate ourselves in adoration and worship before him. But as yet he is unknown to us by name, and we anxiously look about for that which will reveal his true title, with a firm resolution to offer him the entire service of our after life.

In the first three commands of the decalogue, the supreme majesty of just such a Being is proclaimed. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” is the injunction of the first commandment. The second forbids bowing to graven images to worship them. The third would guard the sacredness of his high and holy name, and forbids the irreverent or common use of it. But lest any should fail to know that name and its legal possessor, he utters the fourth, enjoining an institution which would point out each week his regal title and jurisdiction, and thus reveal the superiority of his claim over all others.

He says: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work. . . . For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” In this he proclaims himself Creator of all things in heaven and earth, by virtue of which all come under his jurisdiction, and should therefore obey him; hence he gives the Sabbath to all who believe in him, as a sign or token of their faith in his creative power. Each week as the Sabbath comes to those who observe it, the reasons for its observance appear also; and God, in his true character of Creator of the heavens and the earth, is brought fresh to their mind; and thus the Sabbath is kept in remembrance of him.

Bible writers, in teaching a knowledge of the true God and distinguishing him from all others who claim that title, have invariably borrowed language from the words of God himself. Paul says: “There be gods many, and lords many; but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things.” 1 Cor. 8:5, 6. See also Jer. 10:10–12; Acts 17:23, 24.

This commemorative institution was given to Adam in his innocence, that he and his posterity might keep their faith in God alive; but in his fall, the virus of that sting which caused his death was diffused through all the human family, and soon they had forgotten their Creator. The second time, God took one man with his family to raise up a people who would honor him, and destroyed the rest; but soon the descendants of Noah became idolaters, and Abraham was separated from among them as the only one who had retained faith in God; and his family were made the depositaries of God’s law.

God’s family have ever since borne the honored name of Israel; and the apostle, referring to the faith of Abraham, says: “Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness.” Rom. 4:3. His faith led him to implicit obedience to all God’s commands; and although he could not always fathom the design of his Heavenly Father, yet he believed his word because he had evidence that it was impossible for him to utter a falsehood.

All, therefore, who are of faith, are blessed with faithful Abraham; for to him and his seed were the promises made, which seed, Paul says, is Christ. Gal. 3:16. Again he says: “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Verse 29. Therefore we see that Abraham’s faith in God comprehended faith in Jesus Christ. In closing his letter to the Galatians, he calls them the Israel of God. Chap. 6:16.

To be a child of Abraham, and therefore an heir to the promises, is to be faithful in keeping all of God’s commandments, and to have faith in Jesus Christ. When those who claimed to be Abraham’s seed sought to kill Jesus, he tested them by saying, “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.” John 8:39. We learn that Abraham’s works were to keep God’s commandments. Gen. 26:5.

By taking a survey of the world’s history, we find that all the way along, God has been forgotten by many; and in some cases entire nations have lost sight of him. At the present time, three-fourths of the entire population of the globe have no faith in God! Paul, in his first chapter to the Romans, says that such are without excuse; because when they knew God, they did not like to retain him in their mind, but gave the glory that belonged to him to the things that he had created, until their hearts were darkened by superstition and unbelief. God was entirely forgotten, and their worship given to dumb idols. All these, says the psalmist, shall be turned into hell. Ps. 9:17.

Thus we see that as works decline, faith wanes; this is true of all who do not keep God in their minds. Then to preserve a proper knowledge of God and his ways, we must have works that will demonstrate it. Says John: “And hereby we do know that we know Him if we keep his commandments.” 1 John 2:3. While the inanimate creation declares the infinite wisdom and glory of its Author by the perfection of the law that governs it, so man knows and declares the name of God by adhering to, and being governed by, his perfect law of ten commands.

When the first great object of faith is fully comprehended, then the mind becomes capable of receiving all its accessories; and by hearing the word of God, evidence is presented to our minds of the efficacy of the blood of Christ to remove our past sins. But, says the apostle James, “Faith without works is dead.” We cannot have faith in anything without some outward act to show it; therefore faith in Christ, to be a living one, must show itself by corresponding works. To have faith in the gospel is to believe that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. The works accompanying such faith would be to die ourselves to sin, be buried in a watery grave, and rise again, thereby showing our faith in the operation of God, who raised him from the dead. Col. 2:12.

And lest any should forget the great work which Christ accomplished in his death, he shows them how to keep their faith in that great event alive. In referring to the communion instituted by him, Paul says, “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.” 1 Cor. 11:26. Said the Saviour, “This do in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19. In this memorial, two important things are secured,—to keep the death of the Lord in our own mind, and to show our faith in that event to others.

If we take another survey of the world’s history with reference to God’s people, we shall find their faith in him and his word separating them from the world, and making them appear singular in its eyes. Take the case of Lot and his family retiring from Sodom. Their faith in God’s word was strong enough to make them leave all their earthly possessions behind, and flee, empty-handed, across the plain to save their lives. How singular their course must have seemed to others; yet Lot’s wife, after starting on the journey, dared to disobey one command of the angel, who said, “Look not behind thee,” and was left on the plain, a monument of her presumptive folly. “Remember Lot’s wife.” Luke 17:32.

Again, take the case of the three worthies in Babylonian captivity. When the golden image was set up in the plains of Dura, and at the command of an earthly monarch the assembled multitude fell down to worship it, these noble men refused. They revered the God of Heaven; and, to retain their integrity before him, they stood erect while every one around them was bowing before the image. Why not say, “This is a small matter; everybody else is doing so, and perhaps it will make no particular difference if I do the same”? Because they knew full well that God had forbidden it, and their faith in that word led them to implicit obedience, though it should be at the risk of losing their lives.

It is an easy matter to accept and do those things that every one else practices and believes; but when we dare to move out in duty in direct opposition to the multitude, it is done by virtue of faith in the superiority of that way over the ways of the world. In the time of our Saviour’s

first advent, nearly all the professed believers in God followed one beaten track, without exercising any particular faith in him. True, they worshiped, and had their forms and ceremonies; but these had become a dull, cold formality.

When Jesus healed the young man in their midst, he proclaimed his God-given authority among the Jews, while the young man in his ecstasy cried out, “Will ye also be his disciples?” They in a sneering tone replied, “Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke unto Moses; as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.” John 9:27–29.

It had been thoroughly demonstrated, centuries before, that God spoke by Moses, and it required no great exercise of faith to believe it then, however much it required to accept Moses in his day; but when God spoke through his Son directly to them, they had no faith in his word. So it is with many now. When God’s word is presented to them, they settle down on the faith their church once had, and point back, saying, “We know that God did work for and bless our church under its founders;” and then, as did the Pharisees, without further considering the matter, they fold their arms and give themselves up to be carried along by the popular current, to learn, when it is too late, that

“He struggles vainly to maintain a part, Who has not courage to contend for all.”

Said the Saviour, “Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8. How few to-day have faith to walk out upon God’s precepts! How many try to evade the plain teachings of his word! “I know,” they say, “it reads so, but I think it will make no particular difference; and then it is so inconvenient to obey;” or, “I know it seems to be plain there, but then who can tell just what it means?” And thus the word of God is made of no effect through unbelief.

But the world will say, We have faith in God. It is true, many have a kind of conventional faith in the existence of a being bearing that name; but they seem to act as though they thought him altogether such an one as themselves; for they deal with him as with their fellow men. Any obligation resting on them is discharged, if at all, in the easiest possible manner; and if it is to cost them any inconvenience whatever, it is entirely evaded. Yet such are tolerated in society, and even pass for good citizens. In this manner many apparently think to deal with the Supreme Ruler of the universe, who declares himself an unchangeable being.

Abraham’s strong faith in God led him confidently to expect a future substance,—“a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Heb. 11:10. And although he died in faith without receiving the promise, the time will come, and is not far in the future, when the city of God, the New Jerusalem with its twelve foundations of imperishable stones, will be revealed to his admiring eyes, and he, with all the faithful ones, will tread its golden streets, and walk in its glorious light. It will be for those alone who have had faith in God.

And when the good of every age and clime shall be gathered there, nothing can enter to mar their perfect peace and happiness. Loved ones restored can never be lost, for death is vanquished; sorrow and pain shall be no more, for they are passed away; the last trace of weeping is gone, for God’s own hand shall wipe away the tears from every eye. But that which will make the joy and happiness of every heart complete, will be to know that the tabernacle of God is there, and that he will dwell among them, and that they will be privileged to bask in the sunshine of his eternal glory forever. Reader, will you be there? Have faith in God.

“IN THAT GLAD DAY,”

By Mrs. William Jones

There is a hope more sweet than life, That comes to soothe our sorrowing heart; It is the blessed promise given, We meet “to-morrow”—ne’er to part. Not in the morrow of our days, But in the resurrection morn, When in the light of Heaven’s rays, We seek our loved, our lost, and gone.

But then, Our Saviour, blessed King! Will be our first glad, joyous cry; I sometimes think e’en friends of kin Will fail to catch a loving eye. In that glad day our all of love Will find its complement in him; And all our anxious thoughts will be, To hasten to be near our King.

And he who trod so long ago Upon the shores of Galilee, Will he not then one glance bestow On those who long his face to see? Ah, blessed Saviour! well we know That all thy followers then will gain A loving look, a welcome too, To cheer them for their grief and pain.

Yes: sweetest joy, the King looks down, And lost in wonder at the sight, We gaze on him—on him alone— Our grief is lost in Heaven’s light. The one great theme of all our thoughts, The one sweet joy, for all our pains, The endless songs, the endless shouts, Will be for joy that Jesus reigns

MRS. WILLIAM JONES.

Fond du Lac, Wis.

THE COMMANDMENTS.—PART 1.

By A. C. Spicer

In Exodus (Continued).

Events subsequent to the rehearsing of the moral law from Mt. Sinai should be noticed here, because in very many minds the moral law, and the national “statutes and judgments,” and the ceremonial law, or law of the typical service, are all confounded together, which leads to gross errors. It is found that very many, even Christian readers (and it is believed a majority of them), have never noticed that there was any clear distinction between these laws, or any distinction as to the time or method of their being given from Mt. Sinai; and, hence, when they read, “The law was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made;” or read of a “law of carnal commandments,” “having a shadow of good things to come,” which “made nothing perfect,” which “law was our school-master to bring us to Christ;” or read that Christ having become our great High Priest, “there is made of necessity a change also of the law;” and that Christ “abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances;” “blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross,” as “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth,” they verily and honestly suppose that all these expressions have reference to the moral law, and that that was in reality abolished by Christ.

It has been a matter of surprise that so many, in other respects well-informed persons, including professed Bible scholars and ministers of the gospel, have erred in this respect, and are unconsciously floating in darkness, or floundering in mist and fog on this subject. Here, then, we will endeavor to discover:

The three distinct laws and other respective and concurrent ordinances and instructions given from Mt. Sinai;
The two distinct methods of giving and of preserving them; and,
The three distinct and separate periods of time in which they were respectively given.

I. The three laws.

(a) Ex. 20:3 to 17, inclusive, contains a record of the moral law of ten commandments as enunciated from Mt. Sinai. This is general and universal, and wholly moral in its character, prescribing general precepts for all moral rectitude, of universal application, designed to protect the honor of God, the institutions of holiness (the Sabbath and marriage), and all virtues, and enjoining holiness of life.

(b) Chapters 21, 22, and 23 to verse 14, contain a record of the special civil “statutes and judgments” by which the Israelites were to be governed in Canaan, in the land which they were to go over to possess. Deut. 4:5, 14. These civil, national “statutes and judgments” are based upon the moral law, it is true; but they are, nevertheless, as distinct from it as the session laws of our State, which are supposed to be based upon the State constitution, and designed to carry out its provisions, are distinct from said constitution.

An analysis of these chapters presents to us the following considerations:—

That the first great institution of holiness—the Sabbath—as instituted in Eden and protected by the fourth commandment, is here adopted as a national institution. Chap. 23:12.
The second great institution of holiness—the family—as also instituted in Eden and protected by the fifth commandment, is here recognized and protected by statutes, as in chapter 21:2–11, 15, 16.

The other special statutes and judgments are based upon the commandments, as follows:—

That of chap. 22:20, upon the first.
That of 23:13, upon the second.
That of 22:8, upon the third.
Those of 21:12, 13, 14, 18–32, upon the sixth.
Those of 22:16, 17, 19, upon the seventh.
Those of 21:20, 21, 33–36; 22:1–13, upon the eighth.
Those of 23:1–7, upon the ninth.
Those of 22:25–27; 23:8–11, upon the tenth.

A few of these statutes seem to be based at the same time upon two commandments; and some upon the general principles of the second table of the decalogue. The object of these statutes seems to have been to apply the general principles of the decalogue as a constitution of civil theocratic government to the government of that chosen people as a nation. But because each and all of the fundamental moral precepts were recognized and applied there, and had special statutes based upon them, one or more upon each, for the government of that peculiar people in their national character, they were not therefore invalidated and made void as such fundamental, universal, and perpetual moral precepts; nor were they therefore invalidated as such, even when those special national statutes ceased to be when the nation ceased to be, any more than our national constitution is invalidated by the special, prudential session laws based upon it, and designed to enforce its provisions.

And this principle will apply to the Sabbath as well as to marriage, theft, murder, etc. Adopting it as a national institution and enjoining its observance by appropriate legislation for that peculiar national people, no more invalidated its design and sanctification for all men (Gen. 2:2, 3; Mark 2:27) than the adoption of marriage as such a national institution and protecting and regulating it and the family relation by appropriate legislation, invalidated it as a moral institution and removed it from the decalogue. That recognition of the importance of the Sabbath to that people by statute civil law, enforcing its observance by them in honor of God, no more invalidated it as a universal and perpetual moral institution, nor removed it from the moral code, from its chief place in the decalogue then, than the special and appropriate statutes protecting virtue and property and personal rights, invalidated and withdrew from the fundamental moral code the commandments against murder, adultery, theft, and perjury.

That special legislation even by God, there and then, for that peculiar nation, enforcing upon them by appropriate statute laws the specific precepts and principles of the universal constitution of God’s moral government among men, no more invalidated that constitution, nor removed from it either one of its specific precepts, than the special session enactments of our State legislature, which are based upon the constitution of our general government, and designed to honor and enforce its provisions, invalidate our fundamental national constitution, or remove from it that particular provision which the special legislation was designed to enforce. Even though such special State enactment may expire by limitation, be abrogated by legislative power, or may cease by the expiration of the State, still the fundamental organic constitution and laws of the general government would still exist all the same, though perhaps they might not be everywhere enforced.

Chapter 23:15–19, contains an account of the three annual, national festival ordinances. The passover festival was considered while reviewing chapter 12. The other two are now for the first time brought to light. Though their object was different, yet in character otherwise they were pretty much the same; and hence we pass them for the present.

Chapter 23:20–33, contains special promises, cautions, admonitions, encouragements, and injunctions.

Chapter 24:3–8, narrates the acts of Moses in instructing the people in those “statutes and judgments,” the covenant of the people to keep them, the writing of them in a book by Moses, and the confirmation of the covenant by the sprinkling of the emblematic blood of the testator upon the book and upon the people. That book containing a statement of the national “statutes and judgments,” and ordinances of the Israelites as a separate people, there, then, and thereafter, was called “the book of the covenant.” And here attention is called to the fact that then when that was thus named “the book of the covenant,” because it contained the statute law, the keeping of which was the object of the covenant, and at the time when the Israelitish covenant was thus confirmed by sprinkling the emblematic blood of the testator on the book and on the people, that book not only did not contain the engraven moral law of God; for such engraven law had not yet been delivered by God, either to the people or to Moses (see Ex. 24:12; 31:18; 34:28, 29); but it did not even contain a transcript of that ten-commandment law as spoken to the people. That “book of the covenant,” when the covenant was thus solemnly completed and confirmed by blood, contained only the special national “statutes and judgments,” and the three annual festival ordinances. This fact is an important one, and should be carefully marked.

Verses 1, 2, 9–18, of chap. 24, contain an interesting narrative of God’s invitation to Moses to “come up” to him “into the mount,” there to receive the ten commandments from the hand of God, engraved on stone by the finger of God. Moses went up into the mount where God was, taking Joshua with him, probably as scribe, and was there forty days and forty nights, during which time he received the instruction for building unto God a “sanctuary,” that he might therein “dwell among the people,” and a law, and appointments, and instructions for the typical service. This first class of instructions is found in chapters 25, 26, and 27. The second class—the law, appointments, and instructions for the typical service of the sanctuary—is seen in chapters 28, 29, and 30; the law of sacrifices and of the typical service being found especially in chapters 29, 30.

As seen in chapter 31, after God had given to Moses the law, appointments, and instructions of the typical sanctuary service, and was about to fulfil his promise made to him forty-seven or more days previously, to give to him “tables and a law and commandments which he had written,” and to send him away with them, he instructed Moses to enjoin upon the people with special emphasis that they should keep the Sabbath “holy to the Lord,” and then enforced its observance upon the Israelites by the penalty of death, and then appointed it to be a sign between him and them. 1. A sign that they might know that “I am the Lord that doth sanctify you,” and, 2. A sign between him and them forever that “in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed;” and, 3. A sign “for a perpetual covenant” throughout their generations, that God would fulfil his promises unto them. But the Sabbath was not, therefore, incorporated into, nor included in, the typical law. God had completed giving the typical law and all the appointments of the service of the earthly sanctuary in the previous chapter. This reference to the Sabbath, as seen in chapter 31, subsequent to the giving of the ceremonial law, was incidental to Moses’ going down from the mount to the people with the promised tables in his hands, and to the encouragement of the people to keep it holy. That reference, and the appointment of the Sabbath to be such a sign, neither indicated its incorporation into the temporary, restricted typical law, nor any change in its object, character, or sacredness; but it did indicate somewhat the importance of it, and God’s interest and care to secure its observance as an honor to him.

Appointing the Sabbath as such a sign to the Israelites throughout their limited and temporary generations as a distinct nationality, no more made the Sabbath temporary and limited, than it would have made the sun limited as to duration and radiant power to have appointed it as such a sign, saying to them, “As often as you see the sun rise and set throughout your generations, remember that I am the Lord who hath created it and all things, and who hath covenanted with you, and that I will fulfil my promises.” Such an appointment of the sun, in the absence of a better object, might have been entirely appropriate. But, if made, would it therefore in any sense have changed the object or character of said sun? Verily, it could not. No more did making the appointments recorded in chapter 31:12–17, in any respect change the original object or character of the Sabbath.

At a second interview of forty days and forty nights between God and Moses, there was a repetition by God of some of the Abrahamic covenant promises; of the injunction to observe the three annual festival ordinances, and the Sabbath; and a duplication of the moral law of ten commandments engraved on stone to replace the tablets which Moses broke. Chap. 34:10–28. But at that time there was no confounding of the moral law with either of the others. Because as recorded in chapter 35:2, there was a repetition of the injunction to keep the Sabbath, many have thought that the Sabbath was incorporated into the typical law. But this is clearly a mistake. The giving of the latter law was concluded during the first forty days’ interview, and that reference to the Sabbath was entirely independent of that law, and was a practical injunction by Moses preliminary to setting the people to work to construct the sanctuary and its appointments, as directed by God, for the purpose of securing a proper observance of the Sabbath during that work. There were, then, three distinct and separate laws given from Mt. Sinai.

(a) The moral law of ten commandments, as recorded in chapter 20:3–17. (b) The national “statutes and judgments,” or civil law, as recorded in chapters 21, 22, 23. (c) The law of ceremonies and carnal ordinances, as recorded in chapters 28, 29, and 30.

A. C. SPICER.

Lies Breed Like Surinam Toads

By Washington Allison

Nothing is rarer than a solitary lie; for lies breed like Surinam toads; you cannot tell one but out it comes with a hundred young ones on its back.—Washington Allison.

A MODEL FUNERAL SERMON.

By Jos. Clarke

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. 4: 13–18.

The above is from the great and good apostle Paul, whom no Bible reader will contradict; and it is a beautiful comment upon the occasion of the death of a good person. It is clear in its doctrinal points; yet it is at the same time a touching tribute to the virtues of the departed.

Such a funeral sermon as the above ought to silence forever the doctrines we often hear at the time of burial of our dear friends. Here, in verses 13, 14, and 15, Paul calls death a sleep; three times, in this funeral eulogy, death is termed a sleep. And after describing in the fourteenth verse how Jesus died and rose again, he says, “Even so” them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. “Even so;” how was it? Why, Jesus was laid in the grave, and the third day his veritable body arose, appeared to the brethren at different times, spoke to them, gave them instructions; then in the presence of many he arose in a cloud, and ascended on high. Holy angels then assured the bereaved company that he would appear again in the same manner. See Acts 1: 4–11.

“Even so,” as Jesus died and rose again—“Even so them also which sleep in Jesus shall God bring with him.” How did he die? How did he rise? Was it an invisible, immaterial spirit, thinner than the air itself? No; it was the very same body the apostles had looked upon with awe and reverence and love many times. It was the same person who, with a look or a touch or a word, raised the dead, or gave sight to the blind, or hearing to the deaf. “Even so” will the dead arise; and their bodies, glorified as was Christ’s, will appear in all their personality and materiality, only changed to a glorified body, as was Jesus Christ’s, visible to the sight, present to the sense of touch. Is this according to the teaching of the present day?

Does this sermon of Paul’s endorse the view of many that the soul can exist independent of the body? Does Paul say here that death affects only the body, and that the soul is deathless? and does he here state, or give the least foundation for the statement, that the body is only a clog, a fetter to the soul? that it is now happier, more intelligent, than ever? No; certainly not. There is not the slightest intimation in the words of Paul that the soul can exist in a conscious state separate from the body.

But as to the time of the resurrection; does the apostle say it is at death? Certainly not. Does he say it was at the resurrection of Christ? This cannot be; for he places it in the future, thus: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” This agrees with Rev. 20: 5, 6, and goes to prove that there are two resurrections,—one of the righteous, the other of the wicked.

But as to being with the Lord, of which he speaks in verse 17, how are we to be with him? Are we to be taken to Heaven, as is generally taught, at death? Let us see what Paul teaches. He says, in verse 17, “And so shall we ever be with the Lord.” How is it? So; that is, in the manner above described. Christ descends with a shout. Did he do this at the death of your friend or mine? Did this great voice, this shout, ring through the earth at that time? Who has heard that shout? and who has heard the trump of God?

But Paul says that we shall be with the Lord in this way: The dead are to be raised with great pomp and unearthly splendor. Verses 14 and 17 give us precisely his view of the matter, that is, as Christ arose, and with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God.

And to close up his funeral discourse, he tells them how to comfort one another. Is it by saying to them, Your friend is now tuning his harp of gold before the great white throne in Heaven; he is no longer chained down to earth by his clayey tabernacle, but is now freed from his poor, sickly, decaying body? No! No! It is, “with these words.” What words does he mean when he says, “Comfort one another with these words”? Ah! every one will see at once; it is the words we have been considering; the allusion to the grand, sublime, and glorious descent of the Lord from Heaven, in all the splendor of the advent. Amen, and amen. Jos. CLARKE.

A FEW FACTS ABOUT TOBACCO.

By R. S. Webber

Tobacco, before the discovery of America, was unknown to the civilized world. In 1492, Columbus lay with his ships at the Island of Cuba. He sent two men ashore to search out the land. On their return, among other things, they said “they saw the naked savages twist large leaves together, light the ends at the fire, and smoke like devils.” It is said that centuries ago Indians on this continent worshiped devils; Indian priests got drunk on tobacco-smoke, and in this state they held communion with their deities. In agriculture, they had made some progress. With wooden instruments they broke up the surface of the ground. They cultivated maize, peas, beans, melons, and gourds. The Indians called the maize or corn pogatour. In Virginia there were silk worms as large as walnuts; grass resembling silk, of which a piece of cloth was manufactured in England; besides, there were flax and hemp. But of all the objects of cultivation, the most careful attention seemed given to the uppowac,—tobacco. This was sown in beds distinct from every other plant, as if to preserve it from the unhallowed contact of an ignoble companion; it being the favorite incense offered to their deity, and efficacious in quelling the stormy waves. They also smoked in pipes made of clay, as a potent averter of disease. It was introduced into the civilized world by a Spanish commander. From Spain it was introduced to other countries. It was introduced into England by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584. It is said his servant saw him smoking in his room; and thinking he was burning up, got a bucket of water and threw on him. Catherine-de-Medicis, who was notorious for her instigation of the Massacre of the Protestants on St. Bartholomew’s day, was the first snufftaker. It is estimated that 4,000,000,000 pounds are used annually in the world at the present time. At thirty cents per pound, it would costs $1,200,000,000. In the United States 95,000,000 pounds are annually consumed. At ten cents per pound, it would cost more than all the bread consumed in New York City in three years. This is enough to demoralize a nation. Its effects are directly opposed to Christianity. Thousands of boys and young men are going to ruin by indulging in its use. One of the most remarkable laws in the infancy of Connecticut was aimed against the use of tobacco. It enacted that no person under the age of twenty, nor any other not already habituated to it, should use it unless he had a certificate from a physician stating that it was necessary for his health, and had in consequence received a license from the court. Those who had already addicted themselves to the use of this obnoxious weed, were prohibited from using it in any company, at their work, or on their travels, unless they were at least ten miles from a house; and then only once a day under a penalty of sixpence for each offense, of which the constable was directed to give information to the district court. A similar denunciation was fulminated in Massachusetts. Thus we see that the use of tobacco was very offensive in those days, and there is no less sin in its use to-day. It ruins the land upon which it grows, it is ruinous to those who use it, and it is a curse to the world. R. S. WEBBER.

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