Review and Herald, Vol. 34, No. 14. (9/28/1869)

Review and Herald

Sep 28, 1869

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 28, 1869

IS IT RIGHT TO BE RICH?

This is the title of a little pamphlet written by Lewis Tappan, New York, late Treasurer of the American Missionary Association, and he answers the inquiry emphatically, No. The pamphlet is certainly timely, for the fortunes made during the late war seem to have given to many of our citizens a stimulus to covetousness, which may ultimately bring commercial disaster in its train. In their haste to be rich, men invest beyond their means, and engage in speculations which, if unsuccessful, leave them bankrupt. And certainly the motives which prompt a desire of wealth will not bear the test of Scripture. They are generally of this kind, personal indulgence, to gratify pride, and, we fear, often to obviate the necessity of praying to our Father in Heaven “to give us day by day our daily bread.” But let us give an extract from this admirable little pamphlet:

The Parable of the Talents teaches us that as all our blessings and possessions come from God, “we are accountable to him, and should so use them as to meet his approbation.” And the Parable of the Ten Pieces of Money indicates “the gifts and opportunities of doing good with which he intrusts men.” He says to all men—and all are his agents or attorneys—“OCCUPY TILL I COME;” that is, use what he intrusts to you, in a right manner. This manner is clearly indicated in the word of God, and is accompanied with repeated warnings and easily-understood directions. Stewardship evidently includes the employment of our time, as well as the use we are to make of our acquisitions of property; but my object is chiefly to discuss that part of our stewardship that relates to the latter. What, then, is the divine direction in respect to riches?

1. The Bible warns men against seeking to be rich. “Labor not to be rich.” “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.”

2. It shows us the danger of striving to be rich. “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.”

3. It declares that it is almost impossible for a rich man to be a Christian. “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” “A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of Heaven.”

4. It instructs us to pray against riches. “Give me neither poverty nor riches.”

5. It avers that it is impossible to serve both God and riches. “Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.”

6. It pronounces a woe upon the rich. “But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.”

7. The Scripture asserts that covetousness is idolatry, and that the covetous and the idolater are excluded from Heaven. “For this ye know, that no . . . covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” “Mortify, therefore, your members, which are upon the earth, . . . and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

8. And it predicts the miserable end of men who persist in attempts to serve God and Mammon. “Go to, now, ye rich men! Weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted

and your garments are moth-eaten. Your silver and gold is cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire.”

With these averments and Scripture quotations before us, we are prepared for the statement of some definite principles in regard to the acquisition and use of property.

1. We are to be diligent, unwasteful, hospitable, and ready to distribute.

2. We may use for ourselves and families such dwellings, clothing, food, help, recreation, etc., as are necessary for health, education, useful occupation, and ability to serve most effectually our Maker and our fellow-men.

3. We are to give, as the Lord prospers us, for the aid of the poor and the needy, the support of civil and religious institutions, the establishment and support of churches, schools, hospitals, asylums, etc., the circulation of Bibles, tracts, the spread of the Gospel and the conversion of men.

4. But we are not permitted to amass and hoard property, with the view of becoming or being esteemed rich. If the texts quoted do not show this, they do not seem to mean anything.

It will be asked, What constitutes wealth or riches? It may be defined as an abundance beyond what our employment or necessities, the necessities of those dependent upon us, require in the community where our lot is cast. Such an abundance is a SUPERFLUITY, which is another word for riches. It is against such selfish accumulation and such unreasonable possessions that our Saviour uttered the malediction, “Woe unto you that are rich.”

If, then, the hoarding of riches or superfluous wealth be disobedience to the commands of our Lord, it is manifest that the pursuit of riches, or superfluous wealth, is also forbidden by him, and we may not therefore propose to ourselves, as a goal to be aimed at, either the possession or the pursuit of such wealth. We may labor for a support, for the maintenance of our families, for a reasonable provision for them in case of our death, and also for the means of doing good. Beyond this we are forbidden to go, and the Saviour assigns his reasons for the prohibition, reasons that evince a regard for our welfare, as well as for the honor of his cause and the good of mankind.

Does any one inquire whether it is meant that in itself it is unlawful to hold and manage a large estate; and if it is forbidden to a steward to control a large property in the interest of the proprietor? I answer—the chief object in view has been to show the unscripturalness of amassing and hoarding riches. With respect to the use of riches, acquired before a person comes to his right mind on the subject, it has been stated that a person thus circumstanced should, on learning his duty, relieve himself, as soon as he can discreetly and judiciously, of an incumbrance too heavy for a Christian to bear. And if a Christian finds himself possessed of riches, both he, and his steward acting on his behalf and under his authority, are, according to the doctrine of this tract, to be rectus in curia before the court of Heaven, by making such a disposition of superfluous wealth as will reduce the property committed to him to a sum that a Christian is justified in holding.

But some one may inquire, seeing that many branches of manufactures can not be carried on without a large capital, whether Christians are required to abandon all such enterprises. The answer is, certainly not; but it is not necessary that a factory or any large concern should be carried on by an individual, inasmuch as several persons, of moderate means, by combining them, could furnish capital sufficient for almost any lawful business. The development of the industry of a people, and of the resources of a country may demand concentrated wealth, but co-operative wealth, like co-operative industry, is the safest and best, and most consistent with a republican government and with Christianity.

It may strike the reader that a “rich man,” in the sense of the term used by our Lord and the apostle James, is only one who loves riches; who amasses and hoards money for selfish purposes, and who regards it as absolutely his own. It is true that the guilt is chiefly in loving riches; but it is also believed to be true that every well-instructed Christian, who aims at being rich, or who, by a too restricted distribution of his acquisitions, allows himself to be a rich man, shows by such a course that he in fact loves riches, and consequently comes under the condemnation of the Lord and the apostle.

A case has been suggested of a very liberal man, who is largely engaged in business, and gives freely to various objects of Christian benevolence; and it is asked, Is he not justified in wielding a large capital when he consecrates the profits of his business to such good objects? It will not do to censure such a man, and if they were numerous, there would be little necessity for the publication of this, or any similar tract. But even in such a case, casualties may occur that will show, thereafter, that a less amount of business and a still more generous disposition of money, might be for the good of the possessor, the welfare of his family, and the advantage of the community. Sudden death, an illegal will and testament, unforeseen inheritors of the property, and various other contingencies, may shed such light upon the subject as to convince men that the benevolent man alluded to had acted more wisely if he had been his own executor to a greater extent.—Christian Press.

EXCHANGING WORLDS.

By R. F. Cotterill.

In popular phrase, death is the exchange of worlds. To speak of death in the plain terms in which the Scriptures speak of it, is not expressive of the current theology. So instead of saying a man is called to die, it is said, he is called to exchange worlds. This is the language of those who are called orthodox; it is the language also of Spiritualists. I have heard it from both, on funeral occasions.

A few days ago, I was at a funeral. The subject of discourse was, in part, the resurrection, founded on the conversation between Jesus and Martha, concerning the resurrection of her brother Lazarus, who had been dead four days, and whom Jesus was about to raise again to life. The common expression, “called to exchange worlds,” used in so close connection with this narrative, as related in the sacred record, suggested the following queries in my mind: Had Lazarus exchanged worlds four days ago—a worse for a better? And was he about to exchange worlds again—a better for a worse? And why did he not, on his return from the other world, write an account of what he saw and heard and experienced there? Who would not give more for such a book, than for any book of travels in existence? To neglect to give an account so desirable to men, who have never seen the other world, seems almost like stupidity; and since Lazarus did not think of it, it seems strange that some Romish priest, or monk of the middle ages, has not supplied the deficiency. Perhaps they thought that he was in purgatory, during the four days, and did not get through to the other world.

But how silent are the Scriptures about exchanging worlds at death. Jesus said, “Lazarus is dead.” “Thy brother shall rise again.” “Where have ye laid [not his mortal remains, but] him.” “Take ye away the stone.” And when they had taken away the stone from the place “where the dead was laid,” he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” “And he that was dead came forth.” Not the slightest hint that Lazarus, “the real man,” was absent from the place where his body was. How strange!

But to me there is nothing strange in all this. If Lazarus was as dead as I was for weeks, while the breath was in me, when sick with typhoid fever, I do not wonder that he did not write a book of his experience, as soon as he revived. I had nothing to write; I presume he had nothing; since we are expressly told that he was dead, and we read that “the dead know not any thing;” hence, Lazarus, while he was dead, knew not any thing. But oh! this idea of a double entity. How naturally it leads to double-dealing, and evasion.

The minister told us repeatedly that death was the good man’s friend. Of course, he quoted no Scripture to prove it. But in referring to 1 Cor. xv, for testimony for the resurrection, he read that the last enemy that should be destroyed, was death, and showed that the resurrection would achieve a victory over death and the grave. Is the good man’s friend to be conquered and slain? Is not the resurrection rather the good man’s friend, which slays his enemy, death, and delivers him from his power? Christ certainly is the Christian’s friend, and he was manifested in the flesh, and made subject to death that “he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver them [from death, by the resurrection] who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Which is our friend, the power that lays us in the grave, or the power that brings us forth to eternal life?

But here comes in the double entity again. Death takes the soul, the spirit—all that is worth recognizing as the real man—to Heaven, and Christ has the honor of coming after the body. Then it is said the “soul and body are re-united.” The Bible has not given us that information.

But what I have said may seem to our friends to be severe. It may seem like ridicule; but I do not intend it. I do not feel like ridiculing. But I do wish our friends believed a better theory, one that is sustained by the Bible. But the force of early education makes them fear to venture on the express statements of the word of God. Besides this, it is quite a step from the popular to the unpopular side of the question. But all will know the truth, who are accounted worthy to exchange this world for the promised world to come.

R. F. COTTERILL.

“NEVER MIND, IT WON’T BE LONG.”

By Crisis

Two sisters were taking the last look at the corpse of a loved father. The grief of one seemed almost beyond control, when the other said to her, “Never mind, sister, it won’t be long.”

NEVER mind, it won’t be long, Ere we join the conqueror’s song; These weeping days will soon be o’er, So never mind, we’ll reach the shore.

Never mind, though rough the way That leads to realms of endless day; The King of glory soon will come, So never mind, we’re nearing home.

Never mind, though sad your heart, And with friends you’re called to part; The tearless world by faith appears; So never mind, and dry your tears.

Never mind, the Saviour knows, He feels for every weeper’s woes: He’ll wipe the tears from every eye; So never mind, that day is nigh. —Crisis.

Sermons Without the Gospel

SOMETIMES we hear sermons where the preacher's aim seems to be to make an impression; to present a discourse faultless in structure and delivery, and this main idea crowds out the gospel—not intentionally, but none the less really. We listened, a Sabbath ago, to two sermons from the lips of one of our able evangelical ministers, which, as addresses, were admirable, but as sermons, were failures; that is, if the object of preaching is to turn sinners unto Christ. Had there been in the congregation a person anxious to know the way of salvation, he could not have learned it from the preacher. There was nothing of Christ, nothing of sin or a Saviour.—Sel.

THE FEAR OF MAN.

By George I. Butler

PERHAPS there is nothing that injures the usefulness of some Christians more than the fear of man. This feeling arises from pride, and a very foolish kind of pride at that. A person might do some great action—accomplish something in life—and should he feel proud over it, and look upon himself with complacency, although his conduct could not be justified on the principles of the Bible, which teach us to ever regard God as all—the fountain from whence we receive every good—yet he might seem to have some excuse for that kind of pride. But a person so fearful of his own reputation, or of what people will think of him, that he stands trembling in every limb, unable to take his stand for what he thinks right, or to do those things that reason and conscience teach him ought to be done, because others will not appreciate it, or he will not be so much thought of as he would be by remaining silent, cannot be excusable.

I feel more free to speak on this point, because I have been, perhaps, more faulty in this respect than others. That this springs from the root, pride, is apparent to every one who will give it a moment’s reflection. Why should a person refrain from doing what conscience and his judgment say is right, because of the opinion of men, or because of what they will think of him? Just so far as he is influenced by such motives, so far self occupies too prominent a place, and God too low a place, in his affections. If God were uppermost, and self entirely secondary, whatever seemed to be duty, wherever an opportunity to do good presented itself, it would at once be acted upon, whatever man might think of us.

Oh, how deceitful the human heart! How wicked its hidden motives! It would seem that the pride which consists of complacency in thinking one has done some worthy action, is much more sensible than that which is afraid to do anything for fear one will lose the good opinion already possessed. I am satisfied that the usefulness of many persons among our people is much injured, and in some cases entirely destroyed, by this fear which hinders them from moving out earnestly and zealously to labor in the vineyard of the Master. This is all the worse because the very individuals who are thus affected are persons who might do good, could they throw off this burdensome fear, and move out free and strong-handed for God.

Our people have found it necessary, within a few years, to hold in check a numerous class of individuals who are not at all in danger of fearing anybody; who feel perfectly competent to teach others; and who, by their rash, unfeeling, self-important course, would disgust all sensible people. The fear of man is not their danger. Indeed, if such had a little more respect for the good opinion of others, it would be no injury to them. But there are other persons, of fine feelings, who naturally shrink from prominence, but who might do good, and labor carefully and considerately for the good of souls, of whom Satan has taken advantage, and caused the fear of man to so press upon them that they scarcely dare to do anything. This, I verily believe, is the work of Satan. The very ones adapted by their natural carefulness and tenderness to do the most good, and have true views of things, Satan causes to be oppressed by the fear of man, as with a terrible nightmare, weakening, discouraging, and well-nigh destroying.

A class of individuals among us, who might do good in one sphere of usefulness or another, are entirely hindered, by this course, from moving out at all. They think they are the most unworthy of all; feel abashed in the presence of others, and so mean that they can scarcely hold up their heads; and thus make no show in the world, the unobserving and the self-conceited never once thinking that they could do anything; while really, by their true Christian experience, their conscientiousness, their fear of God, and their tenderness toward others’ feelings, they are ten times better qualified to be useful than those whole-feeling, self-important characters who thus look down upon them.

There are in many churches individuals of this class, who, by their kindness, willingness to bear and forbear for the sake of peace, their readiness, by little acts of kindness, to make others happy at the sacrifice of their own ease and comfort, are preaching loudly, to those who observe them, the religion of the blessed Jesus, who was meek and lowly of heart. And yet Satan, by bringing this terrible fear of man upon them, is keeping them in a trembling, suffering, anxious state of mind, which more than half destroys their usefulness, and even wears heavily upon their health and strength. Why should not Satan be resisted in this direction, as well as in any other?

Again, some who have, in a measure, moved out in the pathway of usefulness, are much hindered, by this fear, from doing the good they might, could they shake it off. It makes a great difference with those laboring in public, as speakers, with what spirit they enter into it. The spirit they possess seems in a measure to be communicated to their hearers. An earnest man, laboring in the fear of God, believing with all his soul what he is saying, yet with humility, the fear of man entirely lost sight of, his whole soul swallowed up in his subject, the good of his hearers standing out distinctly to all observers, cannot but make a mighty impression upon his auditors. His spirit will be communicated to others. This is seen in every other theme as well as religion. All men who have ever moved the minds of people much, have been earnest men; themselves lost sight of in their subject.

But the timid man, shrinking under the fear of what this or that one will think or say; trembling lest what he is saying shall strike the ear of the audience unfavorably, what can he hope to effect? But little, indeed. How out of place such feelings in a minister of the gospel, declaring, as he does, those things that pertain to God, and commissioned by the sovereign Ruler of Heaven and earth; and, above all, how out of place in one who has a message to proclaim, involving the salvation, or eternal loss, of every one who hears it. With what earnestness and zeal should such a message be declared. Our earnestness in any direction should be proportionate to the importance of the interests involved. No doubt many souls will be lost in consequence of the fearfulness and timidity of those who preach the word of truth. An effort, then, should certainly be made to overcome it, if souls are in danger of being lost by it. “The fear of man bringeth a snare.” “The fearful,” as well as the unbelieving, and other classes, will have their part in the lake of fire.

I confess, as an individual, to very great spiritual loss on account of this besetment. Can it be overcome? Doubtless it can. The grace of God, if possessed in sufficient measure, can make up the lack in this respect as well as any other. The psalmist says, “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” A blessed deliverance would this be, indeed; well worth making the effort for, and

seeking diligently the Lord’s face.

One who has been troubled much with this besetment, can believe the statement of John, the divine, that “fear hath torment.” But few know how to pity the one who trembles under the fear of man. The self-confident man, with large self-esteem, knows not how to appreciate the feelings of such as are naturally timid and fearful. Looking with complacency upon everything he does; he is not prepared to sympathize with others whose every effort seems to them to be poor and unworthy, and to whom it seems a reality that others are thinking the same. Such reasons as these, however, ought not for a moment to stop him in the discharge of duty. It is no excuse.

Sometimes it happens in the experience of very eminent Christians, and courageous defenders of the faith, that the fear of man overcomes them. Peter’s example is a very remarkable one. Peter, before the crucifixion, thought he could certainly bear everything for the Master’s sake; even go to death. He was boastful of his strength and courage. He did not know himself. He was fully confident in his ability to bear anything for Jesus. But when he came into the high priest’s house, surrounded by violent men, and the magnates of the nation, where the terrible power of darkness was brought to bear on poor Peter, and he saw his beloved Master in the hands of sinners, abused, spit upon, and all the hopes of the poor disciples seemed forever blasted; this was too much for poor Peter’s faith. His courage sank within him. He basely denied his Master. We often think that we would not have done so; little realizing the pressure brought to bear upon him, and the circumstances under which he was placed. I much fear that very many of us would do no better; and often, I fear, under less temptation, do we just as really deny Christ as Peter did.

Peter needed converting. He went out and wept bitterly, truly repenting of his sin; and as he took low views of self, and realized his own weakness, and learned to trust in the right source for strength, what a difference do we see in him. He was hardly the same man some fifty days after this, when he could boldly stand up before the thousands of Jews assembled together, and boldly declare to them that they were the murderers of the Prince of Life. Would it not be blessed if those of us who are fearful could receive strength from the same source?

St. John makes it very plain where the antidote for this disease is to be obtained. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” “God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” “Herein is love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of Judgment.” Here is the kind of boldness we want: That which springs from love to God. This is a very different article from the courage that springs from self-conceit, or confidence in our own powers. The one will quail as Peter’s did, when brought into the house of Caiaphas. The other can talk just as boldly before thousands who are gnashing their teeth with rage and madness, as Peter did on the day of Pentecost, or Luther, before the Diet of Worms. People were astonished while the humble monk, in the presence of the great Emperor Charles, and the assembled dignitaries of the empire, the cardinals, archbishops, electors, dukes, and generals, when the next step seemed to be the burning stake, could say, “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.” The moral grandeur of such courage is wonderful—self lost sight of—God everything.

This is what we fearful ones need. “Perfect love casteth out fear.” “Fear hath torment.” This love brings “the peace which passeth all understanding.” What a good trade it would be to exchange the fear of man for this glorious “peace.” May God grant that this conversion which Peter experienced may be wrought for us. I know of none who need it more than the writer.

GEO. I. BUTLER.

WHAT IS THAT TO THEE? FOLLOW THOU ME.

By Mary Martin

JOHN XXI, 22.

These words of our dear Saviour have been much in my mind of late; and though uttered hundreds of years ago by him who suffered such unsurpassed agony in Gethsemane's garden, and poured out his soul unto death on Calvary's mountain, yet with characteristic and thrilling sweetness they came to me this morning. The perils of the last days thicken around us on every hand. And some with pity, some with scorn, assail those who are waiting and watching for their Master's return, and derisively ask, “Where is the promise of his coming?” But oh! how little does the heart imbued with love for Jesus care for these things. Saith the Saviour, “What is that to thee? follow thou me.”

How pleasant and easy the broad road looks; and in it are so many of our dear ones. Can we, must we, part from them if they will not go with us? As their mirthfulness and gayety, and, it may be, entreaties, reach us, we are nearly bewildered, but again, clear, rich, and full, with deeper meaning, come my Saviour's words, “What is that to thee? follow thou me.”

Instead of following, how many times have I halted amid the busy scenes of life with my mind filled with thoughts of other things, or mentally exclaiming, Not by this road; it is so rough I never can endure it. But if I cannot trust Him to lead me as he sees best, surely he never will lead me beside the still waters.

Oh! how we would love to follow the Saviour if he would walk in the way we love to go. But this is not the way in which Enoch walked with God; neither can we walk with Jesus so now. How we look about us for an easier, better way; there are so many professed Christians who seem to have found it. What would become of us did not the Saviour's words of solemn, yet mild reproof, again reach us, “What is that to thee? follow thou me.”

Ah! yes. Here is the work for me to do; and how great a work it is. A hasty spirit, impatient words, pride, self-will, and how much that I cannot see as others can; all these must be overcome. Almost appalled, I ask myself is there time for all this ere the Master calleth to the reckoning? Certainly not, unless I hasten, and continue diligent to the task of overcoming, and then with earnest entreaty ask God for Jesus' sake to help me to prepare to enter the city. I feel I will do this; will try to walk more closely in the footsteps of my Saviour, and keep near to him, lest the darkness that is covering the earth and people, gather around me, and I wander so far from the strait and narrow way that his words cannot reach me, and I at last be found in the broad road, and receive the wages of sin, which is death.

MARY MARTIN. Blakeville, N. H.

Whatsoever

WHATSOEVER we bestow, let it be given with a cheerful countenance; a man must not give with his hand and deny with his heart.

HOME.

All through the Scripture, Heaven is spoken of in this strain, “Thou art my hiding place.” “He will hide me in his pavilion.” Home is a place that we can run into and be safe, or in which we can enjoy ourselves; thus a pavilion is spoken of, a place of rest and joy.

Again in Psalm xc, God is said to be our everlasting “dwelling-place,” and in Corinthians we have the word “at home with the Lord.”

Why do we long for this rest? From what does this aching void arise in our hearts? From the fact that we are not “at home.” Our members are here on the earth, while our life is hid with Christ in God; our real existence is hidden with God. The blessedness of being saved is, that we lose altogether our connection with earth, we get life with Jesus, secure, because none can touch the life of Christ. We are translated out of the power of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

It is remarkable how that verse comes in, 2 Cor. v, 6, 8. “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord; for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” We do not walk as others around us who must see everything before they believe, who must grasp everything by their senses, and must touch, taste, and handle. Therefore the apostle says twice, “we are confident.”

What gives this strong, unbroken confidence? Just this one fact, that “we walk by faith, not by sight.” We speak of things we have never realized by our senses. We have never seen the Lord, we have never witnessed anything of glory. Have we ever been in a place like Heaven, so that we can form any idea of its beauty? No, we know nothing except by faith, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” “Therefore we are always confident, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.”

“At home with the Lord.” Blessed, blessed thought! We are inseparable from Christ; our life is hid with him in God, because he died for us on the cross. He linked himself on with us in our sins, he bore the judgment instead of us, he endured God’s wrath upon the tree, and in the resurrection we are united to him, for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. We are inseparable from Christ—he cannot part with us for a moment, for, were he doing so, he would lose some of the joy of his heart.

We are now with him by faith, and soon we shall in reality be “forever with the Lord,” an eternal word which runs on and on, “forever with the Lord.”

Let us remember Jesus in his death on the cross, bearing our innumerable sins, then taking us into union with himself in the resurrection, and so let us be separate from the world. Let us remember his death “till he come.” Wherever we are, let nothing make us forget it.

There is nothing to faith between the cross of Jesus and his coming again.

We are one with him, and soon, very soon, we shall be like him, changed into his image on the resurrection morning, when indeed with one voice we shall shout, “Forever with the Lord.”—British Herald.

ARE WE READY?

By A. D. Bress

Oh! what a solemn question, and how carefully and prayerfully ought we to examine ourselves, and be sure that we are ready. “Be ye therefore ready also; for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” Luke xii, 40.

If there were no danger of our being unprepared, this solemn admonition would never have been given. But our Saviour saw the danger to which we would be exposed, and gave us this warning that we might be without excuse. And if we do not heed the warning, the fault is ours, and the dreadful realities of the second death will be our portion.

Of what vital importance, then, that we should be ready, lest coming suddenly he find us sleeping. Mark xiii, 36. But what must we do to be ready? We have the answer in the words of our Saviour, for he who warned us against this danger has not left us without a rule by which to test ourselves: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” “Go and sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven; and come and follow me.” Matt. xix, 17, 21. “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke xxi, 36.

We do know that the second advent of our Saviour is near, but the day and hour we know not, neither does it make any difference whether it is at even, or at midnight, at the cockcrowing, or in the morning, if we are only ready. But in order to be ready we must first realize what manner of creatures we are. We must enter into a close examination of self, remembering that those who stand upon the sea of glass are without fault, neither will guile be found in their mouths. Rev. xiv, 5. Then if we, full of sin and pollution, must be perfect before we can stand with the redeemed, it is time we commenced the work in earnest. We must be prepared before Christ comes, for it will be too late then to make preparation. Oh! how important, then, that we make proper use of every moment; that we seek the Lord with a whole heart; that we draw nearer to Jesus from day to day, and with earnest prayer and supplication implore God to give us strength to overcome, that we may be found of him without spot and blameless when he shall appear. A. D. BRESS.

OUR NEED OF THE SAVIOUR.

EVERYTHING shows that we are by nature fallen beings, and that we have by our acts greatly sinned against God. Sin has taken away innocence from our race. It has brought guilt upon us. It has defiled our consciences. It has planted within us a disposition to do wrong.

Can such beings ever enter the heavenly Jerusalem? Can we associate with the angels of God and not have them shrink from our society? Can we even enter the presence of the eternal King, and behold his face and be approved in his sight?

The Son of God has undertaken to work in us this mighty transformation. It is a costly work to himself. It is an infinitely important work to us. Some will have that great work fully wrought for them. Why not we be of that number? Jesus invites every one. He will not force any. He proposes to take guilt from our consciences. He will take away also our disposition to love evil and to do it. He will, when the work of his grace is perfected, restore our lost innocence.

This kind of a Saviour is just the kind that we need. He is the Physician of souls. If we will use his remedies, our disease may be cured. Come to him, sin-sick souls. He asks no fee at your hands. He only insists, as a pre-requisite, that you feel your need of him to that extent that you surrender yourself without reserve into his hands. And he will never forsake your case, if you will only obey his directions. Sinful, perishing fellow-man, accept the services of this great Physician.

Continue reading: BRIEF THOUGHTS CONCERNING LIFE AND DEATH