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Review and Herald, Vol. 50, No. 25.

THE FALL OF PLEVNA

Review and Herald

Dec 20, 1877

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 20, 1877

THE FALL OF PLEVNA.

The fall of Plevna, with the surrender of the fine army which Osman Pasha locked up there, is too severe a blow to leave much power of resistance to the Turks. Without at all taking into consideration the strategical advantage gained by the Russians, the capture of Osman and his army removes more than a third of the whole fighting force of the Sultan’s army. The victory opens to the Russian arms the whole of Bulgaria, from the Jantra to the Servian border, and enables Servia to carry out without danger her long-expected programme of junction and co-operation with the invaders. Widin, which is but weakly garrisoned, is cut off completely from all its bases of supply, and must surrender in a few days. Mehemet Ali, who was organizing an army for Osman’s relief, and had already confessed his failure, and Chefket Pasha, at Orchanie, must either get out of Bulgaria and behind the line of the Balkans, or share very shortly the fate of Osman; for the Russians, relieved of the latter, will now be able to pour an overwhelming force upon them. The army of Shumla and the Dobrudscha is thus all that remains to Turkey north of the Balkans.
Under none of its three commanders has it been of very much use. It is cooped up in a comparatively small country, where heretofore it has been barely able to hold its own, advancing on and retreating from the czarowitz’s lines alternately. It will now be needed for the last struggle in Roumelia, behind the passes of the Balkans, if, indeed, a last struggle is to be made, which is doubtful. The next battle, in all probability, will be a diplomatic one, and it is likely to prove more disastrous to Turkey even than Plevna. Great Britain, the only friend of the Turk, is alone, and she cannot do much single-handed.—Detroit Evening News, Dec. 11, 1877.

THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE OF 1755.

By J. O. Corliss

[The following description of the great earthquake is from the People’s Magazine, published in Boston in 1833. The extract was written by an English merchant residing in Lisbon at the time the earthquake occurred. The article will no doubt be of interest to the readers of the Review, as it gives some idea of the extent of that great convulsion which was to mark the opening of the sixth seal, brought to view in Rev. 6: 12. J. O. Corliss.]
Many natives of Portugal yet remember the morning of the first of November, 1755. The day dawned clear and beautiful. The sun shone out in its full lustre; the whole face of the sky was perfectly serene, and no one conceived of the horrible contrast which was soon after to present itself. The earth had trembled at short intervals for a year.
“It was on the morning of this fatal day, between the hours of nine and ten, that I sat in my apartment, just finishing a letter, when the papers and the table on which I was writing, began to tremble with a gentle motion, which rather surprised me as I could not perceive a breath of wind stirring. While I was reflecting what this could be owing to, but without having the least apprehension of the real cause, the whole house began to shake from the very foundation. At first I imputed this to the rattling of several coaches in the main street, which usually passed that way, at this time, from Belem to the palace; but on hearkening more attentively, I was soon undeceived, as I found it was owing to a strange frightful kind of noise under ground, resembling the hollow, distant rumbling of thunder. All this passed in less than a minute, and I must confess I now began to be alarmed, as it occurred to me that this noise might possibly be the forerunner of an earthquake; for one I remembered, which had happened about six or seven years before, in the island of Madeira, commenced in the same manner, though it did little or no damage.”
“Upon this I threw down my pen and started upon my feet, remaining a moment in suspense whether I should stay in the apartment or run into the street, as the danger in both places seemed equal; and still flattering myself that this tremor might produce no other effects than such inconsiderable ones as had been felt at Madeira; but in a moment I was aroused from my dream, being instantly stunned with a most horrid crash, as if every edifice in the city had tumbled down at once. The house I was in shook with such violence that the upper stories immediately fell, and though my apartment (which was on the first floor) did not then share the same fate, yet everything was thrown out of place in such a manner that it was with no small difficulty I kept my feet, and I expected nothing less than to be soon crushed to death, as the walls continued rocking to and fro in the most frightful manner, opening in several places; large stones falling down on every side from the cracks, and the ends of most of the rafters starting out from the roof. To add to this terrifying scene, the sky in a moment became so gloomy that I could now distinguish no particular object. It was an Egyptian darkness indeed, such as might be felt, owing, no doubt, to the prodigious clouds of dust and lime raised from so violent a concussion, and, as some reported, to sulphureous exhalations, but this I cannot affirm; however it is certain I found myself almost choked for nearly ten minutes.”
At night the city was deserted by the surviving inhabitants, and only infested by robbers who proceeded in gangs to break open and plunder. The lights around Lisbon were so covered with tents that they seemed a continued encampment. The great aqueduct over the valley of Alcantara remained entirely unshaken, though its height is so great and its line of arches so extensive. It was remarked that during the month of November, the tides did not observe their proverbial regularity.
The terrors of a conflagration were added to those of the earthquake. On the night of the first of November, the whole city appeared in a blaze, which was so bright that persons could see to read by it. It continued burning for six days, without the least attempt being made to stop it. The people were so dejected and terrified, that they made no exertion even to save their own property. Dead bodies remained unburied in the churches, in the streets, and among the rubbish. The scene inspired melancholy even in dumb animals.
During the whole of November the shocks continued to be violent. Lisbon was reduced to a heap of ruins. The loss of lives was computed at upward of sixty thousand. In the lower part of the town not a street could be traced but by the fragments of broken walls, and the accumulation of ashes and rubbish. Palaces, churches, convents, and private houses appeared as if the angel of desolation had just passed by...
The property of all kinds consumed or engulfed was of immense value. Many years elapsed before Lisbon recovered from the calamity, and the traces of it are still visible in many places.
To the foregoing description of the effect of the earthquake in the city, we add the following from the American Encyclopedia, embracing some other particulars and showing its great extent:—
The great earthquake of Lisbon commenced on Nov. 1, 1755. The rumbling sound below the surface was immediately followed by the shock, which threw down the principal portion of the city. In the short space of six minutes it is believed that 50,000 persons perished. The sea retired, leaving the bar dry, and returned in a great wave fifty feet or more in height. The mountains around were shaken with great violence, and were even rent and thrown in fragments into the valleys below.
Multitudes of people sought safety from the falling buildings by crowding upon the marble quay, which had just been constructed at great expense. It suddenly sank with them like a ship foundering at sea; but when the waters closed over the place no fragments of the wreck, none of the boats and vessels near by that were drawn into the whirlpool, and not one of the thousands of bodies carried down, reappeared upon the surface. Over the spot the water stood 600 feet deep; and beneath this, locked in the fissured rocks, in chasms of unknown depth, lie the relics of what was the life and wealth of this portion of the earth’s surface in the middle of the eighteenth century. These rocks are the clayey and other comparatively soft strata of the tertiary formation. When in some future epoch they are raised again to the surface by a convulsion of the same nature with that which engulfed them, the vestiges they contain may reappear, converted in part or wholly into stone, like fossils entombed when the strata were deposited.
The portion of the surface of the earth that was shaken by this earthquake was estimated by Humboldt as equal to four times the extent of Europe. The shock was felt in the Alps and on the coast of Sweden. In Germany the thermal springs of Toplitz disappeared for a time, and again burst forth, deluging the region around with ochre-stained waters. The waters of the lakes in Scotland, as Loch Lomond especially, rose suddenly more than two feet, and then subsided below their usual level. On the shores of Barbados, Martinique, and Antigua, the tide suddenly rose twenty feet, and the sea was of inky blackness. Even the distant waters of LakeOntario were strangely agitated, and the shock was sensibly felt along the coast of Massachusetts. In Deane’s “History of Scituate” it is stated that the earth was seen to wave like the swellings of the sea, and occasionally break into fissures.
This lasted for fifteen minutes, during which time chimneys were shaken down and houses disjointed. The sea roared with the unusual commotion, and with the rumbling of the earth the noise was more appalling than that of the loudest thunder. Water-spouts burst forth, and springs opened, which continue to flow to this day. As the movement passed beneath the ocean, it was felt by several ships, the impression being like that produced by striking upon rocks. The motion is described as undulatory, and proceeding at the rate of about twenty miles a minute.

CHRISTMAS TIME.

By Mary A. Davis

’Tis Christmas Time, The gladdest festal time of all the year; And happy songs arise, and joy-bells chime; And thou dost greet with gifts the friends most dear.
Hast thou forgot thy King? Hast thou no gift for him? No treasure rare and sweet To offer at His feet Who on the accursed tree Poured out his life for thee?
Oh, in thy selfish joy turn not away The pleading love that asks a pledge to-day!
Whate’er thou hast and art, The treasures of the heart, All that is thine; The mind’s deep wealth, the proud, unyielding will, Thy footsteps’ fleetness and thy fingers’ skill, Bring to his shrine.
He waits for thee. Through the busy day, and still, Calm night, his accents thrill: Come unto me. Canst thou refuse to trust thyself to One Who but to win thee left a kingly throne?
’Tis Christmas Time. Glad voices breathe the music of one name, While happy hearts respond to love’s sweet claim, And gifts, her precious offerings, are thine.
Behold, a Friend doth wait Unnoticed at thy gate. No store of shining gold, Nor gem of worth untold,— Passing the wealth of kings, The wondrous gift He brings.
Dare not in thoughtless pride to spurn away The priceless treasure offered thee to-day:
Peace like a river deep, Love that will never sleep, Faithful and tried; A refuge sure, a never-failing stay, A light, undimmed through life’s dark, troubled way, Thy steps to guide.
He pleads with thee; Through summer’s heat, and chill Of winter calleth still, Open to me. Wilt thou accept the guerdon of thy King? It may be thine,—Heaven’s costliest offering.
MARY A. DAVIS.
Battle Creek, Mich.

TURKEY SINKING TO EXTINCTION.

Whatever Turkey does, whether she be steeped in her ancient poverty or rich with fresh loans, whether left to herself or strong in European alliances, she is falling to pieces. Some, indeed, hold out a hope that, if left to herself, she might carry out reforms; but on one point all are silent, and that is, what all these reforms are to end in, and what is to be the reformed Turkish Empire of the future. It is a castle in the air. The Turks are incapable of representative institutions and constitutional government. Their pretense of it, whether honest or not, is an illusion. They have it neither in their race nor in their creed, nor even in their circumstances. It is the common assumption of every speaker, on whatever side, that Turkey is in this evil case. Whether she be oppressor or oppressed, mistress of her actions or under evil possession, it all comes to the same thing; that the world is seeing the last of Turkey. Her visible and awful changes are not those of development, but of dissolution. Then comes the question, Are we to attempt to keep life in the body, to infuse young blood, to inflate the collapsing lungs, to warm the chill extremities, and flatter ourselves we can make her once more a living thing? Is it possible? Is it desirable? Is it even right?—London Times.

THE POPE AND THE CZAR.

The London Times is authority for the statement that the Jesuits are moving to make Jerusalem the headquarters of the Roman Church. “Money is being collected for the erection of a magnificent palace for His Holiness on Mount Zion, to which the wealth of the Vatican is to be transferred.”
Mgr. Capel claims that the Roman Catholic Church is making converts from among the higher classes in England as never before. The Ritualistic party, he says, is doing good service as a feeder. Yet he adds: “I have a hearty contempt for the Ritualists. How can any rational man fail to prefer Catholicism to Ritualism?—the religion itself to a mere imitation of it?”

Paris Unrest, Papal Letter, and Storm Disasters

INTENSE uneasiness prevails in Paris. Gunsmiths’ shops are closed, all troops are under orders, and foreigners are leaving the capital. Revolution is considered as extremely imminent.
THE pope has written an autograph letter to Queen Victoria, thanking her for granting permission to re-establish the Roman hierarchy in Scotland.
THERE have recently been disasters by storm and flood. The United States warship, Huron, went down in a terrific gale off the Carolina coast, and out of 139 on board, 105 perished. Virginia, Maryland, and adjacent regions have been the scenes of very destructive floods, causing the loss of millions of dollars’ worth of property in the localities visited by them.

Christian Giving, from a Business Man’s Standpoint.

By A Merchant of Chicago

The terms “giving,” as used in the Bible, and “paying,” as we understand the word, are, in many places, synonymous. God calls it “paying,” man, “giving.”
Under the old dispensation God required the tithe, or, in modern English, the tenth, of every man’s increase or income, to be paid to him, either in kind or in money; and the people were in debt until it was paid. He even goes so far as to call the non-payment of his share robbery. “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes [or tenths] and offerings.” Mal. 3:8. In the next verse he says, “Ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.” In the next verse we read, “Bring ye all the tithes [or tenths] into the store-house, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
It is worthy of note that this charge of robbery was made more than one thousand years after the command was given, and that fourteen hundred years after, Christ plainly sanctioned the same command, even to the tithing of mint, anise, cummin, and rue, four of the most insignificant of the earth’s productions.
This law of God requiring the tenth of our income, or increase, has never been repealed and never abrogated. Nothing has ever been substituted for it. Indeed, it seems to have been, like the law of the Sabbath, taken for granted. The tenth has always been, and is yet, God’s share, his due. Don’t talk of “giving” until that is paid; as well talk of “giving” your grocer the amount you owe him. Paying comes first, giving afterward.
In 1 Cor. 16:2, Paul says to the Christians at Corinth, as he had previously said to those at Galatia, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him.” Now, if this means anything, it means some definite proportion of their weekly income. The question, then, is, What proportion? one-half? one-fifth? one-tenth? one-twentieth? If they gave to no other objects, it was one-tenth, without doubt, as that was God’s rule, and they knew it.
He also exhorts them to give, “not grudgingly, for God loveth a cheerful giver.” Do you think he meant if a man was stingy he should not give at all, because he could not give cheerfully? or that he should give only a small amount, because if he gave more it would be grudgingly? He meant he should cheerfully give his share, and his share was in proportion as God had prospered him.
The meaning of the words, free gospel, free grace, free salvation, has been shamefully perverted. They have not, and never were intended to have, any such meaning as is often understood. The gospel and salvation are free, thank God; but no more free than was God’s pardon for the Jew. Yet no Jew ever thought of going up to worship God without taking his gift with him. The gift was an essential part of the worship, and there was no worship then, and should not be now, in which giving is not an important part.
A prominent minister of Chicago pref-aces the collection with the exhortation, “Now let us worship God with our gifts,” and he is right. It is worship, or it is mockery. God always intended giving to be a part of the worship, just as much as prayer or praise. And that we might not be in doubt about it, he has in hundreds of places mentioned the amount we owe him as that part of our worship. When Paul wrote the sentence, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” and Peter said, “Holy men spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost,” they had reference only to the Old Testament, as the New Testament was only then being written; and in the Old Testament more is said about the law of tithes, or payment to God of one-tenth of the increase, than even about the law of the Sabbath; and in the New Testament Christ no more plainly sanctions the law of the Sabbath than that of tithes.

Contracts, or Covenants.

God is always willing to make contracts, or covenants, with us, and he never fails to keep his part. He made one with Abraham, and renewed it with Isaac. He made one with Jacob, accepting Jacob’s proposal to prosper him for one-tenth of his income. He made one with Moses: “Go before this people; I will be with thee.” He made one with Joshua: “Be strong and of good courage; for thou shalt cause this people to inherit the land [marginal reading].” He made one with Hannah, the mother of Samuel. He made one with Samuel when he was a child. He made one with Eli. He made many with David. He made contracts with Solomon, with Rehoboam, offered to make one with Jeroboam. He made contracts with Hezekiah, with Isaiah, with Josiah, with Daniel, and with many others. Notice that every one of these contracts was for temporal blessings. Has God changed? Did he care then for men’s temporal interests, and not now? Did he ever fail to keep his part of the covenant? Men often broke their part, but as long as they would repent, God would forgive, and renew the contract.
God wants to be a partner in every honest business. He furnishes to every man all his capital, be it brains, muscle, or money. And yet all he asks as his share is one-tenth of the net profits. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein.” “The silver and the gold are mine,” saith the Lord.
He permits you to hold from some other man the title deed to a little portion of the earth’s surface; or you have some other man’s promises to pay; but, after all, God furnishes you or your ancestors the muscle or the brains to earn the money to lend to others, or to invest in property of some kind. He does not say to you, Pay me one-tenth the profits or I will take away your business or your money; but it is his written and unwritten law that one-tenth belongs of right to him, and you wrong and defraud him (he says you rob him) when you do not pay it.
There are laws underlying this matter of giving, or paying, that are nature’s laws, and therefore God’s laws. Among them are the twin laws of habit and system. Habit is correctly called second nature; and system is an indispensable law of success in everything. Giving, or paying,—that is the better word,—should be habitual, systematic, and in proportion to the income. Giving systematically inculcates that other law, or principle, of saving, which is all-important in business life. Ask a business man which of two young men of equal ability and advantages in business life he would rather trust, one who gave one-tenth of his income regularly, or one who gave nothing. Ask him which he would rather trust if both gave one-tenth, the one systematically, the other without system. If he has had large experience, he will not hesitate a moment in his answer.
Paul says, Lay by you on the first day of the week, as God has prospered you. The plain inferences are, regularity, the first day of each week, and a certain definite share, “as God has prospered you.” If God has not prospered you during the week, his share will be correspondingly small. If you have only made a dime, a penny is all he asks as his share; and if you have given a penny to the poor, or to God’s service in any way, during the week, you are out of debt to God for that week, except the debt of gratitude and love we can never pay, and thank God we cannot.
If you have made ten dollars, one dollar is God’s share. If one hundred dollars, ten dollars is his share, and you are in debt until it is paid. God loves “straight business” in more senses than the one of honesty. Do you say that this is bringing it down to a fine point? that God does not care for pennies? Two mites are not a penny in value, and Christ immortalized the poor widow who gave them.
Take away the children’s pennies from the contributions of the Christian world, and if there are tears in Heaven, the angels would weep over the increased number of lost souls.
Do you ask, How shall I manage to systematize, and how shall I estimate my income? what deduction shall I make?
Are you working on a salary of $1,000? You owe to God $100 a year. Shall I make any deductions from this on account of family or personal expenses? No; except providential expenses incident to sickness, &c., which may be deducted from the whole amount of income, not from the Lord’s portion alone.
How can I keep the account? Use a page of your ledger, or a small blank book, putting down every item given, even to the pennies, and balancing up the book at least once a year. A frequent careful footing of the column will be a pleasure to you, and, no doubt, will also be pleasing to the other partner, your Heavenly Father.
What items shall I put down, my pew rent? Yes; for while this is, in the highest sense, a debt, for good done your soul, yet by aiding in sustaining the preached word and keeping the house of God open, you have a personal interest in the salvation of every soul brought to Christ through the preaching and influence of your pastor.
Shall I put down any aid I give to the poor? Yes; the poor are God’s heritage, and “he that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord.” What I give to the spread of the gospel in any way? Most certainly. Suppose I watch by the bedside of the sick who are not able to hire nursing? A lady asks, Suppose I spend an afternoon sewing for the poor? These two questions represent a class. The answer must be general. It is, in brief, if your income is lessened thereby, it would be right to estimate your time at its money value. A farmer asks, Suppose I send my team and hired man, or go myself, and help gather the crops of a poor neighbor? Estimate your time, and that of your man and team, at its cash value to you.
Suppose I hire some one to nurse a sick neighbor who cannot afford to hire nursing. Charge what you pay for the service to God’s account. Suppose I give clothing that is of little or no further use to me, to those to whom it is as good as new. Put it down at the price you could sell it for cash, not at what it may be worth to them.
Are you in business, and do not know what your income will be until the end of the year? You can make a reasonably close estimate, and act upon it during the year, and if at the close God has prospered you more than you expected, carry the balance forward as a debt which you will pay as God gives you opportunity.
Some may ask, shall I deduct my rent? For your place of business, yes; as you will all other business expenses in arriving at net profits. For the house I live in? No, as that comes under the head of personal, or family expenses. Another, who owns his dwelling, asks how he shall estimate the same matter. God only asks for one-tenth of the income, or as the Bible has it, one-tenth of the increase, not one-tenth of the capital. Some one may ask, Suppose I feel that I am not accumulating, that I am not making money, that, upon the whole, I am losing. If you are losing, it is upon your capital already accumulated. It is presumed you have already given to God one-tenth of that, and it is yours to keep or lose. You must have an income of some kind and amount, or you could not live. If you are living up to it, God’s share is one-tenth of your living. No Christian or honest man will knowingly live beyond his income, unless he has accumulated capital from which to draw to meet his honest debts.
God does not ask any share of accumulated capital, of which you have already given him a tithe, or tenth; neither does he share losses on that capital. Remember God claims an interest only in your income. Shall I deduct taxes? No. Interest on borrowed money? No; unless the money so borrowed was to enable you to produce income, not to save capital or principal or real estate, or something you have before accumulated.
Suppose my money is in real estate, which has increased in value during the year. Sell a portion of it, and give the proceeds; or, if you can’t sell it at a fair price, give the land itself to the trustees of some worthy charity, putting down the amount of its worth in cash, not what you may ask for it.
Do you say you are in debt, and you must save every dollar you can to pay that debt? Who prospers you that you may pay? Does God cease to be your partner when you get in debt? How can you ask God’s blessing on your business when you deny him his share?
God is never indefinite or uncertain, either in his laws or in his demands. He is a God of seasons, of times, of quantities. He makes the earth turn on its axis in twenty-four hours, not twenty-three nor twenty-five. The earth goes round the sun in so many days, hours, minutes, seconds; no more, no less. He commands us to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, the seventh day, not the sixth nor the tenth. So, in giving, God requires the tenth, not the seventh or the twentieth; and there is no stronger command in the New Testament to observe the seventh day as a day of rest, than to give one-tenth of our income or increase to God. Both are taken for granted. It must not be understood that the writer claims that one-tenth only should be given, or paid, in all cases. That would be much like claiming that if we spend the Sabbath properly in God’s service, we are at liberty to follow our own inclinations the remainder of the week. God will bless the man who pays back to him one-tenth of his income, by increasing his ability and disposition to give him much more, just as the man who honors God by keeping holy the Sabbath, will be the better able to honor him during the week, and will be kept from many a temptation.

Rewards of Giving.

Luke 6:38: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal, it shall be measured to you again.”
Acts 20:35: “Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
2 Cor. 9:6–8: “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver. For God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” (The word “grace” in this connection has special reference to temporal blessings.)
Prov. 28:27: “He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack; but he that hideth his eyes [from the wants of the poor] shall have many a curse.”
Prov. 11:24, 25: “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”
The language of the following statement is well weighed, and, judging by results in the past, is capable of the fullest proof: If all Christians were to consecrate one-tenth of their income to God, it would not be twenty years before the gospel would be preached to every creature on the face of the earth to whom access could be gained by missionaries.
There is no lack of missionaries; the lack is of money to send them.
Giving or paying one-tenth of our income or increase to God is not only a duty, but a privilege also, and even so far as temporal blessings are concerned it is profitable. It pays, both for time and eternity.—A Merchant of Chicago.

THANKSGIVING FOR REDEMPTION

By N. W. V.

ALL-WISE, eternal God, in all thy nature love! Who made this planet by thy word, and all the worlds above;
Who loved our guilty race, thy helpless, sinful foes, And gave thy Son, in sovereign grace, to suffer all our woes,
That we, when reconciled by his most precious blood, Made free from sin, pure, undefiled, might come to thee, O God;
Who hast our keeper been, in danger, toil, and pain, To make us conquerors of sin, with Christ, thy Son, to reign,—
We give thee love and praise, we trust thy faithful word. Help us to serve thee all our days in Christ our blessed Lord.
N. W. V.

Religion as a Golden Thread in Life

Religion, like a golden thread, must enter into the warp of life, shining everywhere throughout.

APPEAL TO KANSAS BRETHREN.

By J. N. Ayers

The year 1877 is nearly gone. God has given us abundant crops. What have we given him? Are we thankful for his blessings? Have we given him a thank-offering? Have we even paid him his tithe? The Lord has not only blessed us in temporal things, but he has also blessed the labor of our ministers and of the tract society in bringing many to the truth. In our own State (Kansas) several new churches have been organized, some of the older ones have had quite an increase to their numbers, and many openings are now waiting for a minister.
Jesus is soon coming to give every man as his work shall be. Rev. 22: 12. What shall we receive when he comes? There are to be but two classes then. To the one class Jesus will say, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you;” the other will hear him say, “Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness.” With which class shall we be? Who are the “unprofitable servants”? Are we not, so far as we have the Lord’s means, and refuse to give him the usury?
All we have is the Lord’s. We are his stewards. He has gone into a far country, and has intrusted us with his goods. He says, “Occupy till I come.” Luke 19: 12, 13. Now while the Lord is gone he has a work to be done, and he retains a part of the increase of his goods to carry forward his work in his absence. This he calls “usury.” Matt. 25: 27. He tells us just what usury he claims. Lev. 27: 30, 32: “All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord.” “And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, . . . the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.” Then the tithe, or tenth, of all our increase is the Lord’s, and we have no right to use it for anything but the Lord’s work.
Not only has he told us that one-tenth is his, but he has also told us which tenth it is. Ex. 22: 29: “Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits.” Ex. 23: 19: “The first of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God.” If the above is true, we have no more right to the first tenth of our increase than we have to the seventh day. The Lord has given us six days in which to do our work, and has reserved one day, the seventh, for himself. He has given us nine-tenths of all we can honestly make, and has reserved one-tenth, the first, for himself. Have we given the Lord his usury for the year 1877, the one-tenth of all our increase? If not, will it not be with us as it was with those wicked husbandmen spoken of in Matt. 21: 33-41? Will not the Lord take his goods from us, and give them to others who will give him his own in its proper season?
Is the Lord able to dispossess us? Will he do it? “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.” Hag. 1: 9. Do we want the Lord to blow upon our grain or stock that we have gathered the past year? If we do not, let us give him that which belongs to him, then we can claim the blessings he has promised.
Let us see what some of these blessings are. 2 Chron. 31: 10: “Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty; for the Lord hath blessed his people.” Prov. 3: 9, 10: “Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase; so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.” Mal. 3: 10: “Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
Do we believe the Lord will do as he says? Our works will show. “For as the body without the breath [margin] is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Jas. 2: 26.
The prophet says, Mal. 3: 8, “Will a man rob God? yet ye have robbed me.” From the first verse we find he is talking to those living when he comes to his temple, and the sixth verse shows that this language applies while the investigative Judgment is in session; for it is when witnesses are used. See verse 5. Then it applies to the people living since 1844. The Lord says we have robbed him. Wherein? say we. The Lord answers, “In tithes and offerings.” If we have given him his tithes, he still claims offerings, free-will or thank-offerings. This comes out of our nine-tenths. Are we thankful for the bountiful harvest with which we have been blessed the past season? Have we acknowledged our gratitude by an offering to God?
“When thou vowest a vow unto thy God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools. Pay that which thou hast vowed.” Eccl. 5: 4. Have we promised to give to the tract society a sum equal to one-third our s. b.? and have we paid it? If we have not, we ought to do so at once. The society is in pressing need of means just now. Who will be the first to send in his thank-offerings and pay his vows? Let us take hold in earnest. Let those who have means, give, and those who have time, engage in canvassing.
The tract society is doing more in Kansas to-day than all our ministers. The most I have done since Conference has been to gather the sheaves that were reaped by the T. and M. reaper. It is a good reaper, and it does good work; but it takes men and money to run it. They have it running in Osborn Co., where ten were gathered into the churches at our last meeting, some of whom had never heard a sermon. In Jewell Co. they have kept it running (although hands were scarce), and twelve were gathered into the Salem church. They intend to keep it moving all winter. In Republic Co. it has done a good work. Near White Rock is a field where the sheaves are scattered all around, and need gathering up. At New Liberty a live church has resulted from the grain cut by the same machine; at Hanover, Washington Co., is another; and in Neosho Co. is a company of Swedes consisting of four families calling for a gatherer of their own language, as there is quite a settlement of Swedes there, and they are anxious to hear preaching.
Calls for a preacher are coming in from all parts of the State where interests have been awakened by our papers, books, and tracts. Now is the best time in the year to work. The grain is fast ripening, and if not cut will soon fall down and spoil. Every Seventh-day Adventist should at once have his or her name enrolled as a tract worker, and report to the company commander for duty; and each may have some sheaves to bring in when the gathering time comes. J. N. AYERS.

HELL IN NEW ENGLAND

By Editor

SEVERAL days ago a Congregationalist council refused to install Rev. Edward Merriam over a church in Springfield, of which he had been invited to become the pastor. His character was above reproach. He had been settled over a church in Connecticut, where he was universally respected and beloved. His learning and talents entitled him to respect and made his services desirable. His views were entirely orthodox according to the Congregational standard, in all points but one. They were lamentably unsound on the doctrine of hell. He maintained that the Scriptures do not teach the eternity of punishment, though they do teach the future punishment of the impenitent wicked. He was unwilling to teach and defend a doctrine that is not explicitly stated in the Scriptures, especially when it conflicted with his reason and conscience. The council divided, but the majority voted not to install him.
This matter lies outside the domain of secular journalism, and we should not allude to it but for the stir it has made in New England. It is the livest topic that has turned up there since the election. It is surprising what an interest the New England mind takes in hell. All the papers are discussing it. . . . And this discussion brings out the significant fact that popular sympathy is entirely on the side of the minister. The New England mind seems to have gone sadly back on the faith of its pious Puritan progenitors. . . And, strange to say, a great many of the New England ministers appear to sympathize with the popular feeling, and quietly drop hell out of their preaching. This probably accounts for the coldness in the New England preaching, which President McCosh lamented so pathetically at Edinburgh. Most of the young ministers, we are told, not only have no hell in their theology, or at most a sort of purgatorial Turkish bath, which the wicked go through on their way to Paradise, but they even spell devil without a “d”; and Henry Ward Beecher boldly tells the elders that they must decide whether to keep their oldest standards or their newest minds, for the nineteenth century intellect will not wear seventeenth century shackles.
—New York Weekly Express.
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