p. 27 | Review and Herald, Vol. 27, No. 4. (12/26/1865)

Review and Herald

Dec 26, 1865

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 26, 1865

The Old Error Repeated.

THOUGHTS FOR CHRISTIANS TO CONSIDER.

"Christ is all and in all." So wrote the inspired Paul. And another apostle says, "There is no other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." It is, therefore, a matter of the utmost practical moment to have right views of Christ, and his relations to the children of men.

The two great central facts in the Biblical account of Christ are his two advents. With these two important facts are connected all the curses and blessings of God's ancient people and of the world. The one conducts to Bethlehem's manger and Calvary's cross; and the other to the clouds of heaven and the New Jerusalem. Connected with the first advent we have the rejection of God's ancient people, the Jews, and their dispersion, under God's scathing judgments, among all nations; the preaching of the gospel as a witness to all people; the calling of the Gentiles; and the gathering out of the world a people for the Lord, to be his kings and his priests in "the world to come." Connected with Christ's second advent we have the glorious gathering and restoration of "the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah," the pouring out of the vials of wrath upon the unbelieving and idolatrous Christian nations, and the setting up of Christ's kingdom on the earth. Correct views of the manner and object of these two advents of Christ are necessary to a right appreciation and enjoyment of Christ as the Saviour.

A striking lesson on this subject may be found in the case of the Jews, in regard to the first advent. They believed that the promised Messiah would come. It was universally admitted that he would come. Many devout people believed that the time for his appearance had arrived. The Scriptures had plainly announced the state and condition of things amid which he would appear. Many believed these announcements, and were anxiously waiting for his appearing. But many looked only for a triumphing Messiah, who was to deliver them from their oppression, and overlooked the manner and object of the first advent. They looked for the immediate realization of the Psalmist's declaration: "When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory." They looked for him as a Prince and Ruler who would give great honor to the nation, and at once smite their enemies, "assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah." They looked for an immediate universal reign, in which he should take "the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession." They thought their own sacred hills would at once be made the scene and centre of his universal triumphs, because it had been written, "He shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously;" and "the kingdom and dominion, and greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the saints of the Most High."

Such seems to have been the almost universal opinion and belief among the Jews, at that time, in regard to the manner and object of Messiah's coming. They expected a Messiah of noble and princely estate, and surrounded by external pomp and power, such as they thought became the Son of David. And they were not wrong in their conceptions of the coming Messiah. All this, and much more, had been predicted of him. But their great error was that they looked only at results, and not at the means. They were so absorbed with the idea of what they should realize in the glories of the mount upon which Messiah is to reign "before his ancients gloriously," that they entirely lost sight of the deep, dark valley that lay between them and that mount. They failed to perceive that the same prophecies which predicted Messiah's triumph and reign also predicted his sufferings and death. They would not believe that the way to the mount of glory, and that even for Messiah, was to be through the valley of humiliation. They forgot that, whilst it was appointed unto him to reign, it also behooved him to suffer and to die. They were so anxious to be delivered from the Roman yoke, and have the palmy days of David and Solomon restored, that they were offended at the manger and the cross. Their great eagerness for the expected deliverance blinded their eyes to the prophet's words that Messiah was to be "a root out of dry ground," "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." They were so filled with the glory which God had promised to the house of Israel through him, that they failed to see in their sacrifices and ceremonies the types of a better sacrifice, and that the blood which flowed from their altars pointed to the precious blood of Jesus, "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." They failed to comprehend that, long before the predicted glory, Messiah should first spend a life of toil, and poverty, and wretchedness, and submit to the cruelties of his enemies, be nailed to the tree of crucifixion, and "cut off" for the sins of the world. And by failing to comprehend and believe ALL that the prophets had written concerning the promised Deliverer, they failed of a deliverer entirely, and rejected the only Messiah. Though "he came to his own, his own received him not;" and for this their house was "left unto them desolate," and for eighteen hundred years they have been suffering the judgments of God, scattered among all nations, their very name a by-word and reproach.

But shall we reproach the Jews for this, their error, in regard to the manner and object of the Saviour's first advent? "Let him that is without sin cast the first stone." Many professing Christians are guilty of the same error, in another direction. How many spiritualize and allegorize away some of the most solemn and positive declarations, which are as plain and straightforward as those by which the coming of the Messiah, as a sufferer, was announced to the Jews! There are those who preach the doctrines of Redemption, Repentance, and Faith, very earnestly, who yet hate and condemn the great doctrine of Christ's Second Personal Advent and Reign, and warn their hearers against it as a pernicious heresy. And yet there is no truth more clearly and fully announced in the Scriptures than this. And are not such doing the very thing for which they condemn the Jews? Notwithstanding their zeal and sincerity for other truths, they preach only half a gospel, and hold up to the worship and faith of their people only half a Christ.

The minds of the Jews were so occupied with the glories of Messiah's reign and triumphs, that they overlooked his sufferings and death, and hence would not receive him as the promised Messiah;

and so, many Christians confine themselves so entirely to what the Jews stumbled at, as to look only at the humiliation and the cross, whilst they set aside the crown and the throne, and are as much offended at them as the Jews at the humility and the cross.

And whence is this? Not from any uncertainty or indefiniteness in the manner in which the triumph is announced; for the Scriptures are just as clear, full and distinct, on this as on any doctrine they contain. It comes from a false system of spiritualizing and allegorizing the word of God, as the Jewish mistake came from a like perversion of God's plain records. It is high time, however, that we cease to tamper with the word of God, by forcing upon it meanings which it was never intended to teach, and to be assured that the Bible means just what it says, and says just what it means. Our only safety is in interpreting unfulfilled Scripture in the light of Scripture already fulfilled.

And what is true of those solemn declarations in regard to the Jews, is also true of those passages which refer to the manner and object of Christ's two advents. The predictions concerning the one must be fulfilled the same as those concerning the other. Christ's first advent was literal, visible, and personal, fulfilling the very letter of prophecy. How dare we then suppose that the second advent will be spiritual only, especially when it is affirmed that it will be as literal, visible, personal as the first? (Acts i, 9-11.) At Christ's first advent, every prediction, even to the dividing of his garments, and casting lots for his seamless coat, was literally fulfilled; and how can it be possible that the predictions relating to his second coming will not also be fulfilled in the same literal manner? The shame was all literal and visible, and so also must be the exaltation and glory. The error of the Jews was in thinking too exclusively of Messiah's reign and glory; ours is in thinking too exclusively of Christ's suffering and humiliation. And if it was a fatal error in the Jews to dwell too exclusively upon the predicted triumphs, ignoring the intervening sufferings, may it not be an error equally fatal to us, to dwell upon the accomplished humiliation and ignominy, to the rejection of the true doctrine concerning the kingdom? The Jews ignored the cross; but do not the great mass of professing Christians equally ignore the crown? Is it not the practice of many to interpret the Scriptures referring to the first advent of Christ literally, and those referring to the second advent, spiritually? If this is understanding "all that the prophets have spoken" about the first advent, it is certainly very far from understanding "all that the prophets have spoken" about the second. If we are right in understanding those Scriptures literally which speak of the humiliations, sufferings, and ascension of Christ, we certainly cannot be right in interpreting those respecting his second coming and reign in any other way.—Prophetic Times.

He Will Come.

By R. F. C.

Tune—"Tramp! tramp! tramp!"

Though as strangers here we roam, and as exiles from our home, Yet the light of hope illuminates our way; For our Saviour will descend, and our conflicts have an end, And our night of sadness turn to endless day.

Chorus. See, O, see the signs fulfilling, Cheer up, Christian, He will come; And the sleeping saints shall rise, And with us ascend the skies, To Jerusalem our everlasting home.

Ere our Saviour went above, to the glorious throne of love, He announced a precious promise to his own, He bright mansions would prepare, that his glory they might share, And he'd come and take them with him to his home.

Chorus.

And said he, The orb of day shall be darkened on his way, And the moon her borrowed light shall cease to give, And the stars of heaven shall fall as a warning unto all, To forsake their evil ways that they may live.

Chorus.

Now kind messages of love he is sending from above, To prepare his erring children for the day, When the heavens he shall rend, and in majesty descend, To redeem his own, his enemies to slay.

Chorus.

Oh, while yet 'tis called to-day, let us now the call obey, And be ready then to meet him in the air; That at last we may rejoice, as we hear his welcome voice, I am come to end your sorrows and your care.

Chorus.

R. F. C.

Endure Hardships.

By Charles Bray

As a gladiator trained the body, so must we train the mind to self-sacrifice, "to endure all things," to meet and overcome difficulty and danger. We must take the rough and thorny road, as well as the smooth and pleasant; and a portion, at least, of our daily duty must be hard and disagreeable: for the mind cannot be kept strong and healthy in perpetual sunshine only, and the most dangerous of all states is that of constantly recurring pleasure, ease, and prosperity. Most persons will find difficulties and hardships enough without seeking them; let them not repine, but take them as a part of that educational discipline necessary to fit the mind to arrive at its highest good.—Charles Bray.

Expecting the Saviour,

By Dr. M'Caul

AN ESSENTIAL FEATURE IN TRUE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER.

We now proceed to consider, particularly, what this "waiting" is, as expressed in the text by the words "looking for that blessed hope;" and to show, from the nature of the duty, that the practice of waiting for the second advent is an essential feature in the character of a true Christian. The glorious coming of the Lord is represented in Scripture as the promised return of a kind Master to his faithful servants. To wait for that which is promised is an exercise of faith. It is likened to the sudden coming of a thief, against which we have been warned; to take heed to the warnings of God is an effect of holy fear. It is compared to the return of the beloved Bridegroom; that the bride should wait with earnest desires for his return, is an evidence of love. It is set forth as the return of the Lord to his disciples, for which he commandeth them to watch; to wait for it, then, is an act of obedience. But in whichever of these four points of view we consider the practice of waiting for the second advent, whether as an exercise of faith, an effect of holy fear, an evidence of love, or an act of obedience, it is equally an essential feature in the character of a true Christian.

Faith is an essential feature of a true Christian, "for without faith it is impossible to please God." The promises of God are the object of faith; the promise of the Lord's return is one of those most frequently repeated. Where then is faith in this promise, if the practice of waiting for it is wanting? Remember, brethren, that faith is an operative principle, and, whatever be its object, it produces certain effects. When faith fixes upon the promise of forgiveness of sins, it drives to prayer and confession. When it lays hold upon the promise of the Holy Spirit for sanctification, it produces earnest supplication that will not be silenced until the promise is fulfilled. When it looks to the often repeated promise of the Lord's return, it generates a habit of waiting for it with patience. The servants who believe that their Lord will return according to his promise, gird their loins, put on their best apparel, and hold all things in readiness; and though the shades of evening should set in, they despair not; and though the darkness of midnight should begin to pass, they slumber not; but keep their lights burning, and hearken in watchful silence to every distant sound that may perhaps give notice of their Lord's approach. And, if they speak, if the silence of expectation be broken, it is to rouse the slumbering, or to ask, "Watchman, what of the night?" or to discourse about the happy meeting; for their Lord has promised to return, and they believe his promise. Faith in the promise necessarily produces these effects. When, then, the effects follow not, where is the faith? And where there is no practice of waiting, what evidence is there of faith in the Lord's promise?

Some may perhaps say, that it is not yet time to expect the Lord's advent; it would therefore be folly to wait for it; when it is near, it will be time enough to look for it. If there be in this congregation any in this faithless state of mind, let me remind them that this is exactly the excuse of the unprofitable servant whose portion is appointed with the unbelievers; mark these words, "with the unbelievers." He says, "My Lord delayeth his coming." It is not so near—no need of watching yet! You will perhaps answer, We are watching for death, for death will certainly arrest us before the Lord could come again. I ask in reply, where has the Lord commanded you to watch for death, instead of watching for his second coming? Tell me the chapter and the verse. I ask you in the second place, what reason you have for thinking that death will surprise you sooner than the second advent? Who revealed to you the day and hour of which no man knoweth? You will reply, No man hath revealed it to me; my belief that death will precede the second advent is founded on no declaration of Scripture; my own reason tells me of it. So many generations have already passed away without the Lord's coming, that it is now most probable that the present will pass away in like manner. If this be your mode of arguing, then beyond all doubt you believe more firmly in the probable conclusions of your own reason, than in

the words of your Lord and Master. Where then is your faith? And where is your likeness to those disciples of whom our Lord says, "Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching?" But, whatever you may think of your state, you cannot possibly deny, that steadfastly to trust in Christ's promise, confidently to expect its fulfillment, and humbly to obey his commands, is an indispensable evidence of the reality of that faith, without which no man has a right to esteem himself as one of Christ's true disciples.

This practice of waiting is also compared to the state of a householder, who expects his house to be attacked, but knows not the hour when the thief may come. He therefore remains in a state of suspense and fear, and consequently of active vigilance. He knows that his property, and perhaps his life, are at stake; he therefore takes heed that his heart be not overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, or with the cares of this life, and so the thief come unawares.

This represents the habit of holy fear in which the true Christian lives; contemplating the awful transactions of the great day of Christ's appearing, and remembering that it will come as a snare upon all them that dwell upon the earth; such a state of mind as the Apostle describes, when he says, "We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad; knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." 2 Cor. v, 10, 11. Need I stop, my brethren, to prove that this is an essential feature in the character of a true Christian? No; your consciences assure you that no man is a true Christian without it.

The coming of the Lord is likened also to the return of the Bridegroom long delayed but surely promised. And the Bridegroom is chief among ten thousand. To him the church owes life and liberty. He delivered her from death, and ransomed her from captivity. For he left his Father's house, forsook his Father's throne, and took upon himself the form of a servant, endured countless hardships, and suffered countless wrongs. And the church is not insensible to his love, nor indifferent to the promise of his coming. The days of his absence are days of mourning, "She seeketh him whom her soul loveth; she seeketh, and findeth him not." Song iii, 1. She counteth the days "until the winter be past, and the rain over and gone; until the fig-tree putteth forth her green figs," Songs ii, 11-13; for that is the promised sign of his approach. She crieth, "Make haste my beloved." "The Spirit and the bride say, Come." And were it otherwise, were the church happy and content without her Saviour, careless and indifferent to his coming, where were her love? And when persons calling themselves Christians, are perfectly satisfied with the present state of things, and utterly indifferent to the Lord's return, where is their love? Does that man really love the Lord Jesus Christ who almost never meditates upon his union with him; who never prays for his coming; who never looks at the signs of the times to see whether it be near; I speak not now of those who have never fled for refuge to the Saviour, and who have therefore no experience of his forgiving love (for them to pray for the Saviour's return would be presumption); but of those who profess to have found forgiveness of sins, and justification by faith.

Have you no desire to behold him who purchased for you these blessings with his precious blood? to see him as he is, and be like him; to fall down before his throne, with a heart overflowing with gratitude; and to join in the glorious song of the redeemed, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain?" But, whatever be your state, acknowledge that to wait in humble and earnest expectation for the Lord's return, as the bride waits for the bridegroom, is an evidence of love; and that love is an essential feature in the character of a true Christian.

Lastly, to wait for the Lord's coming is an act of obedience; and without obedience to talk of faith, hope, love, or any other Christian grace, is nothing short of madness.

"Ye are my friends," saith our Lord, "if ye do whatsoever I command you." If, therefore, the Lord

had but once given a command to watch for his second advent, it would have been sufficient to bind us to obedience; but I know of no command more frequently repeated in the New Testament than this. I have already, in this discourse, remarked how often it is insisted on, and how variously it is applied; I will now only notice how often it occurs as a command.

It occurs as an express and positive command at least eight times in the Gospels, five times in the Epistles, and twice in the Revelation of St. John; altogether fifteen times. It is a command given in the most solemn manner, with a blessing attached to those who obey it, and a curse pronounced upon them who disobey it. It is a command accompanied by a declaration that is applicable to all, so that no one can hold himself excepted. "What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." It is a command so clearly expressed, and so exactly limited by the context, that it cannot be interpreted figuratively, nor wrested to apply to anything but the coming of the Lord in glory. For in the gospels it is preceded by an account of the judgment; and in the epistles, connected with the resurrection of the dead, or the conflagration of the world.

What then is the state of a man who deliberately disobeys such a command as this? If obedience be at all times necessary, is it not in such a case indispensable? Will any man dare, under any pretext whatsoever, to dispense himself or others from such a command as this? Or can any man so grossly deceive himself as to imagine that he is a true Christian, when he is living in willful disobedience to his Lord's plainly revealed will? There is but one infallible mark of a true Christian,—obedience to his Lord's commands; and he that waiteth not for the Lord's coming, hath it not. He may possess great knowledge of the mysteries of the Gospel, but he is "a child of disobedience."

You see, then, brethren, that whether we look at the express testimonies of Scripture, or consider the nature of waiting for the second advent, as it is set forth in Scripture, as an exercise of faith, a state of holy fear, an effect of love, or an act of obedience, my assertion is true; the practice of waiting for the second advent of the Lord, is an essential feature in the character of a true Christian.

Patronizing and Circulating Religious Books and Papers.

LECTURING and preaching are great things, but they are not the greatest. They can do something which the press cannot do; but the press can do much which they cannot do. Printed leaves can go everywhere. They never blush—know no fear—never stammer—never die. They can be multiplied without end. Books and tracts can travel at little expense. They want nothing to eat. They require no lodgings. They run up and down like the angels of God, blessing all, giving to all, and asking no gift in return. You can print them of all sizes, on all subjects, in all places, and at all hours. And they can talk to one as well as a multitude, and to multitudes as well as to one. They require no public room to tell their story in. They can tell it in the kitchen or the shop, the parlor or the closet, in the railway carriage or the omnibus, on the broad highway or in the footpath through the fields; and they dread no noisy or tumultuous interruption. They take no notice of scoffs, or jeers, or taunts; of noisy folly, or malignant rage. They bear all things, suffer all things. They can talk even when the noise is so great as to drown all other voices. No one can betray them into hasty or random expressions. And they will wait men's time, and suit themselves to men's occasions and convenience. They will break off at any point, and begin at any moment where they broke off.

The Terrible Chain.

There was once a captain of a vessel promenading gaily on the banks of a stream not far from its mouth when the sea was at low tide. As he looked right and left without paying any attention to his feet, he did not see extending before him a great chain, of which one end was attached to a ring fastened to the rocks of the shore, and the other to an anchor buried in the sands in the middle of the river. Not seeing it, he struck it with his foot, stumbled and remained fast. His foot had passed through a link, and he could not withdraw it. He made repeated efforts, he turned his foot in every way, but all was useless. Then he cried for aid, and men, who were fishing some distance away, heard him and ran to him. Immediately they attempted to withdraw his foot, employing all their strength, but it began to swell, and their good will availed nothing.

What can be done? To unfasten or raise the chain would not be possible. It was one of those masses of iron that one can not remove but by the aid of a capstan, and there was no time to lose, for the tide was rising. Let us call a blacksmith to cut the chain, said the men; and one of them was dispatched to the nearest village, which was two or three kilometres from the place. The blacksmith came, but the instruments which he had brought were not heavy enough; it was necessary to return to the village to get others. He returned, but during the time the powerful waves of the ocean began to return; the water, which had at first only wet the sand, now rose over his foot, then to his thigh, and when the blacksmith arrived he could do nothing; the waters had risen to the captain's waist, and the men who assisted him were in a boat.

What can be done? What hope is left? Anguish upon anguish! One only resource remains, but it is terrible—to sacrifice his limb to save his life! Does he wish this? Yes, anything, everything, not to die! Life! oh, life! Oh for a skillful man, a surgeon to cut off my foot!

One ran instantly; a surgeon was found; he came in all haste, his case full of instruments, and everything necessary for the operation. As soon as the unhappy captain saw him afar he cried, quick, quick, doctor. Oh, hurry, cut off my foot, save my life! But when the doctor came near he had to get in a boat, and could not reach the captain except by rowing; the water had risen to his neck; they could scarcely keep his head out of water, and the surgeon said, "It is too late!" A few minutes after, the waves passed above the head of the unfortunate man, and he perished.

My friends, this terrible history we use as a comparison. That man who went out so gaily in the morning, taking his pleasant walk, that is you. That chain, which through heedlessness he did not see, is the net of Satan. That link in which his foot is caught is your sin. He believed he could easily extricate himself; he was deceived. The waves which mounted toward him are time flying, death coming. There is not an instant to lose. Each hour that passes renders your sins more powerful and your salvation less probable.

What will you do? All the boats in the world cannot save you; all the smiths in the world cannot sever your chain; all the doctors in the world cannot cut off your connection with sin. What will you do? There is a Saviour, but he is the only one; it is Jesus. He is able to save you, to unfasten you, to deliver you. Turn to him; call him to your aid; hasten; time flying; to-day is the day of salvation. Cast an eye of faith on him; he merits all your confidence and all your love; he has devoted himself to death, and has suffered it in order to give you life. Do not delay. Whosoever believes on him shall not be confounded. Do not delay; he will be with you in trouble, in danger, in death, and will deliver you. But delay not, for to-day is the day of salvation.

Increase of Crime.

By Earnest Christian

It is frightful to contemplate the rapid increase of crime in all parts of our country. Scarcely a newspaper can be opened that does not contain the account of the perpetration of some horrible offense against society. The enormity of the crimes keeps pace with the rapid increase of their number. One day a man shoots his wife—the next a son stabs his father, a brother kills his brother for some slight difference of opinion, then a father murders his whole family. Common robberies and murders are of every day occurrence. Forgery, swindling, and peculation are carried on by the wholesale. Private houses, banks, and the Government are indiscriminately robbed. Men of established reputation for business integrity, suddenly disappear, taking with them fabulous sums of money, the property of others. By perjury and other means the nation is defrauded of money more than enough to pay the interest upon the national debt.

Licentiousness prevails to an alarming extent. Intemperance is rapidly gaining ground. It appears as though Satan was let loose, and was exerting himself to the utmost, knowing that his time is short. What is the meaning of all this? Are the last days in reality upon us? Is the day of doom at hand? Look upon the face of society and see how perfectly its features correspond with the likeness drawn by the pen of inspiration. "This know, also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false-accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof—from such turn away." Did not modern society sit for this picture? Could the camera reflect a more accurate resemblance? Can this striking agreement be the result of accident?

It is time for the followers of Jesus to be up and doing. But alas! the perpetrators of these high outrages are, generally, among those who call upon his name and attend upon his worship. They own pews in magnificent temples, or belong to a church which boasts of the imposing character of its rites, and the liberality of its terms of communion. Would you not be carried away with the current of ungodliness which appears to be sweeping all before it? Then must you have a genuine experience of the saving grace of God in your soul. You must build upon the rock for the storms are upon us. You must bear an unequivocal testimony against prevailing sins, and like Lot in Sodom, vex your righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds. From a quiet acquiescence to active participation the transition is gradual, easy, imperceptible, and well-nigh certain. Above all let us call upon God in mighty prayer, to lift up a standard against the tide of iniquity which is poured out like a flood. Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

Thoughts in Old Age.

DAYS of my youth! ye have glided away; Hairs of my youth! ye are frosted and gray; Eyes of my youth! your keen sight is no more; Cheeks of my youth! ye are furrowed all o'er; Strength of my youth! all your vigor is gone; Thoughts of my youth! your gay visions are flown.

Days of my youth! I wish not your recall; Hairs of my youth! I'm content you should fall; Eyes of my youth! ye much evil have seen; Cheeks of my youth! bathed in tears have ye been; Thoughts of my youth! ye have led me astray; Strength of my youth! why lament your decay?

Days of my age! ye will shortly be past; Pains of my age! but a while can ye last; Joys of my age! in true wisdom delight; Eyes of my age! be religion your light; Thoughts of my age! dread not the cold sod; Hopes of my age! be fixed on your God.

Knocking at the Door.

It is the boast of English freedom that the monarch cannot enter the humblest cottage without leave of the one who dwells there. He has power to do it, but the constitution of the realm forbids. Civil freedom makes every man's house his castle. If the monarch would enter he thinks best to knock, and give the occupant an opportunity to welcome him. So the Divine Monarch, when he comes to our homes, our hearts, says, "Behold I stand at the door and knock." He does not force open the door. He could. He does not think best to. He prefers to come in as a friend and guest, not as a burglar.

He knocks. Perhaps you do not hear him. Many times when a friend knocks at your door you are making such a din inside, or are so busily occupied in mind, that you do not hear him. So pleasure or worldliness may make us deaf to the Saviour's call. His Word, his providence, his Spirit are unheeded.

He knocks. Sometimes you can tell who is knocking at your door, before you open it. If not, you are not willing to open and see who it is. You can tell the Saviour's knock, if you will only listen. That single thought of God, of death, of judgment; that pang of anxiety for the future; that view of Jesus on his cross; that earnest look from a Christian friend; that sermon; that passage from your Bible; the words you are now reading—these among other things come to your heart from a waiting, knocking Saviour.

Shall he wait longer? Reverse the situation. Let an anxious sinner begin to ply an unwilling Saviour with arguments, beseeching him to come in, calling to him that the door is open, that he shall receive a hearty welcome, that all the sinner can give, even to life itself, shall be his if he will only come in. Who could complain if all this were necessary to induce the glorious Monarch to enter? But the beseeching is all on the other side. Jesus is indeed unwilling, but unwilling to go away.

What a picture! The Son of God begging for the privilege of making his abode with a sinner! What another picture! The Son of God refused admittance until he takes his final leave! Reader, open the door! Do it now.—Tract Jour.

John Bunyan.

It being well known to some of his persecutors in London that Bunyan was often out of prison, they sent an officer to talk with the jailer on the subject; and, in order to find him out, he was to get there in the middle of the night. Bunyan was at home with his family, but so restless that he could not sleep; he therefore acquainted his wife that, though the jailer had given him liberty to stay till the morning, yet, from his uneasiness, he must immediately return. He did so, and the jailer blamed him for coming at so unreasonable an hour. Early in the morning the messenger came, and, interrogating the jailer, said, "Are all the prisoners safe?" "Yes." "Is John Bunyan safe?" "Yes." "Let me see him." He was called, and appeared, and all was well. After the messenger was gone, the jailer, addressing Bunyan, said, "Well you may go out again just when you think proper, for you know when to return better than I can tell you."

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