Earlier text: THE TWO-HORNED BEAST"Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth." Num. xii, 3. In this short sentence we have the secret of the success of this favored servant of God, and undoubtedly it was written for our admonition and good. By an examination of the sacred Word we learn that meekness is a characteristic of the Christian, and that great blessings are promised to those that practice this virtue. In the Word we read, The Lord taketh pleasure in his people, he will beautify the meek with salvation. But men in this age of the world have lost sight of this virtue, and do not appreciate the promise given to those who practice it; yet some men, and especially the popular preachers of the day, when they find some honest soul is about to turn their feet away from the Sabbath of the Lord our God, urge meekness as a last resort to detain them from obeying the Lord. I once knew a preacher of this class, who upon a certain occasion, finding that a part of his flock had resolved to obey God by keeping all of his Commandments and the Faith of Jesus, determined to save them from the delusion of keeping at least the fourth command. Accordingly he with one of his brethren repaired to the house of an aged brother and sister who had but a little while previous embraced the faith. Here finding that the proof was lacking on his part, he reproved them for their lack of humility. Said he, You should have more regard for the feelings of your brethren. The course that you have taken is causing confusion in the church, and if you are keeping the seventh day you should keep the first day also, and not let it be known to the world, that you are keeping the Sabbath. This man was of the class that think one seventh part of time is all that the fourth commandment requires; but it appears that he did not see that he would have them keep two sevenths of time instead of one. During his conversation with these servants of God, he said to the sister, You should have consulted with the church before taking the step you have. If you had done so, and had not embraced the seventh-day Sabbath until I received the work of a learned man, that I have not; for, you might have been enabled to see that the seventh-day Sabbath has no claims on us. Is man any higher authority than God? was the meek reply of the sister. The minister went away confounded; for he well knew there is no authority in the Scriptures for keeping the first day of the week for the Sabbath, as I have since heard him acknowledge. How great, thought I, is the power of meekness. This preacher would have been glad if this sister had been meek enough to obey the traditions of men, rather than the commands of God; but God says that his servant Moses was not so, but was faithful in all his house. Num. xii, 7. Though Moses was called from keeping the flocks of Jethro in the plains of Midian to lead God's people, two millions in number, through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness forty years, and was permitted to behold the glory of God as he descended upon mount Sinai, and was permitted to talk with the Lord as it were mouth to mouth, and to behold the similitude of the Lord, [Num. xii, 8.] yet was he the meekest man upon the face of the whole earth, and was faithful in all the Lord's house. There is not an instance left in the sacred record of his ever teaching the traditions of learned men, instead of the commands of God; but he does teach us to "know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations." Deut. vii, 9. Neither did he teach that the seventh part of time was all that God required to be kept. Search the first five books of the Bible through, and there cannot be a place found where he taught such an idea. Take the book of Genesis, and we find that God made the world and all that is in it in six days and rested on the seventh. Moses does not say that God rested on the seventh part of time, which was the first day of the week, and then worked the remaining six sevenths of the week, but that he first worked six days and then rested the seventh day. Gen. ii, 2, 3. But this is not all. God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because that in it he had rested from all the work which he had created and made. Sanctify, according to Webster, is to separate, to set apart, or appoint to a holy, sacred, or religious use. Then, according to Moses, God set apart the seventh day for a sacred use. But says one, who was to use the seventh day? God or man? Man. So says the Saviour. "The Sabbath was made for man." Mark ii, 27. We next turn to Exodus. In chap. xvi, Moses tells us that the people rested on the seventh day. This was about two weeks before the children of Israel came to mount Sinai. We next turn to chap. xxxi, 13. Here we have the testimony recorded by Moses. "Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Verse 16. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. The definition of perpetual, as given by Webster is, never ceasing, continuing forever in future time, destined to be eternal, as, a perpetual covenant, everlasting, endless. Then, according to the testimony of the Lord as recorded by Moses, the Sabbath is an eternal, or unending covenant. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation, ye shall do no work thereon; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. Lev. xxiii, 3. And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath-day, and they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation, and they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should127be done to him. And the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death, all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. Num. xv, 32, 35. Let us analize this testimony and see what it proves. According to our seventh-part-of-time friends it would read like this, And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the seventh part of time. How does this sound? It sounds well enough, says one. Let us examine it and see. First, let me ask, why was the man stoned to death? Says one, because he gathered sticks on the seventh part of time. I do not so understand it. Says one, how then do you understand it? I will tell you. It was because that he worked seven seventh parts of time, that he was stoned. True, the seventh day is the seventh part of time, unless some days are lengthened, as one was at the time that Joshua commanded the sun to stand still. When the Lord had finished the work of creation, and rested on the Sabbath, he gave man the privilege of working six seventh parts of time, and commanded him to rest one seventh part of time, according to the reasoning of those that oppose the Sabbath of the Lord. Of such I would ask, Which seventh part of time did God bless? Was it the first seventh part, or the fourth seventh part, or the sixth seventh part, or no one in particular? No one in particular, says one. Then I ask, How could God command that the man that gathered sticks should be punished, since by your reasoning, if the man had worked twelve days and rested two, or worked eighteen and rested three days, it would have been just as well. He could not, says one. Well then, which way will you have it? You answer, he blessed some particular seventh part of time. Well, which seventh part of time? I do not know, you reply. I will tell you. It was the seventh seventh part of time, and it falls on the seventh day of the week. First. Because that God rested from the work which he had made. Second. He could not rest from any work before he had commenced it. We will now pass to Deut. v, 13. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, &c. There is still other testimony in the five books, that was penned by this humble man of God, but we will pass to notice the testimony of another noted personage, who at a later period in the history of the world showed himself to be no less humble than his predecessor, whom the Lord said he should be like unto. "Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Phil. ii, 6-8. The first testimony of this witness is found in Matt. v, 17, 18. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets, I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill; for verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. All has not yet been fulfilled, for Isaiah prophesied of a new heaven and a new earth; consequently not one jot or one tittle has yet passed from the law. Again in Matt. xxiv, 20, where this witness was giving directions to his disciples about fleeing from Jerusalem, when they saw it encompassed with armies, he gave an important testimony, which to suit the theory of our seventh-part-of-time friends would read thus: "But pray ye that your flight be not in the Winter, neither on the seventh part of time." What would this amount to? Why, says one, if their prayer was answered they would not flee at all. Would this answer meet the instructions of the Saviour? For my part I do not think it would; for the reason that in verse 16 we read, Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. Our Saviour never was inconsistent in his instructions; hence we conclude that our Saviour in looking down the vista of time nearly 40 years this side of his crucifixion, clearly recognized and pointed out to his disciples the seventh-day Sabbath, which was then universally acknowledged by all that professed to serve the God that gave the Sabbath. Let all remember the words of David: "The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies." Ps. xxv, 9, 10. Let all remember the promise that the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Ps. xxxvii, 11. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment, seek righteousness, (i. e. seek to do right,) seek meekness, it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's fierce anger. Zeph. ii, 3. The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the holy one of Israel. Isa. xxix, 19. O for that meekness that will enable its possessor to be faithful in the Lord's house, obeying all of his righteous commands; for by the keeping of God's commands we shall have right to partake of the fruit of the tree of life and enter in through the gates of the city of our God. J. F. Case. Hear ye the music of that golden lyre,
That whispers of a time when wars shall cease;
When holy visions shall the soul inspire,
And Jesus reign, exalted Prince of Peace?
Celestial epoch in the flight of years!
Ye hours of sacred bliss, roll on! roll on!
No clouds of sorrow shall obscure the dawn
Of glory, that will flood this vale of tears:
But love will bloom upon the tyrant's rod,
And earth no more by sin and death be trod—
Anthems of praise attune the gentle gales;
Blossoms, exhaling incense from the sod,
Like little altars, shall adorn the vales:
While mountains sparkle in the smiles of God. Is thy path lonely? fear it not, for He
Who marks the sparrow's fall, is guarding thee;
And not a star shines o'er thy head at night,
But He hath known that it will reach thy sight;
And not a joy can beautify thy lot,
But tells thee still, that thou art unforgot;
Nay, not a grief can darken or surprise,
Swell in thy heart, or dim with tears thine eyes,
But it is sent in mercy and in love,
To bid thy helplessness seek strength above. LETTERS.
By Elvira Sanford
'Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another.' DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: As I read the heart-cheering letters from some of you it refreshes my heart, and I am led to inquire. Why do not more of the remnant speak through our medium of communication, the Review, for the comfort and encouragement of each other as we tread the thorny path toward the holy City. True we have the Word given by inspiration of God, which is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works, [2 Tim. iii, 16, 17.] and are allowed to peruse it at our leisure; still to hear from those who are striving for the kingdom encourages us to press forward on our way, and bear the trials that we meet with patience. I do feel like selling all that I have that I may buy the gold tried in the fire, and the white raiment, and I desire to anoint my eyes with eye-salve that I may see what God requires of me. I do desire to so live that I may be daily guided by the Spirit of God to do all things that he requires of me. I think that some of the church here at last are beginning to do what we have long talked of doing, to be zealous and repent. O that the people of God may arise and put on the garments of righteousness and begin to shine as lights in the world. O that the jars, and contentions, and trials, that tear and distract the church of God were all done away, and that true charity would take possession of each heart. Dear brethren and sisters, is it not the want of this lovely trait of the Christian character in the heart, that makes us so often distrust the sincerity and honesty of our brethren or sisters, and that robs us of that brotherly love that we ought to have for each other? O that we may examine our own hearts and learn to look at our true Pattern instead of looking at each other. I want to be sanctified through the truth, and by obeying the Commandments of God and Faith of Jesus. ELVIRA SANFORD.
Green Vale, Ills., Aug. 11th, 1857. MALINDA B. PIERCE
By Malinda B. Pierce
BRO. SMITH: I wish to say to you that I am, I trust, still striving to keep all the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus. The present truth never looked so precious to me as within a few weeks past. I do desire to walk in it fully. When the testimony to the Laodiceans first came out last Fall, I felt as though it met my case, and tried to heed it by a zealous repentance according to the admonition of the blessed Jesus, but I did not let it have that thorough, lasting effect upon me that it ought to have had, and I again grew rather stupid; but for a few weeks I have felt more fully the weight of that message, and I do feel determined to try and be among those that will overcome. I have thought much of late what precious promises there are to those that overcome. It seems there is a great deal of meaning to that word, or it would not be so often repeated in the holy Bible. He that overcometh shall eat of the tree of life that is in the midst of the paradise of God. O I long to taste of the blessed fruit of that tree, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. I do feel as though I must be among those that enter through the gates into the city, that glorious, blessed city, where there is no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, for the former things are passed away. Sometimes I have such feelings for those around me that are all engaged in this world, and do not realize that the day of wrath hasteth greatly, that it seems as though I must make them see; but when I try to talk with them they appear so stupid, and many of them show such enmity to the truth that my heart aches and I weep before the Lord on their account. I do desire very much that some of the brethren would come this way and hold up the truth to the people. It seems as though there must be some that are not wholly joined to idols. My husband's father and myself are all the Sabbath-keepers there are for more than twenty miles. It sometimes feel very lonely, and when the holy Sabbath comes and all around are engaged in the active business of life, O how we wish we could drop in with those that are met to worship the great Author of the Sabbath. Dear brethren and sisters, you that have the privilege of meeting together every Sabbath will you remember the lonely ones, and pray for us that we may overcome all and be prepared to meet all the loved saints with the blessed Jesus in their midst in the land where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest. O I long to be there. I do feel that it is much better to suffer afflictions with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a sea-128son. May the Lord help us to have our lamps trimmed and burning brightly amid the surrounding darkness. Your unworthy sister striving for life. Andover, Vt., July 27th, 1857. **THE WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE,
By J. M. McLellan
As Pointed Out by the Son of God.** MORE than eighteen hundred years ago, when Jesus was on earth, going about doing good, relieving sufferers and teaching the way to life eternal, a young man came to him, and from the reading of the record, we learn that he was greatly troubled about one thing; viz., how he could obtain eternal life. In this troubled state of mind he approaches the Son of God, knowing that he taught the way thither, and addressed himself to the great Teacher thus: "Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" Matt. xix. 16. "And he (Jesus) said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God:" but, (here comes the answer to the young man's question, mark it well, reader, for it points the way to eternal life,) if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Here the way is pointed out, and the way-faring man though a fool need not err therein. Here are the conditions laid down by the Son of God himself, a faithful observance of which, will secure to you this first of all blessings from which all others flow. But you ask, What are the commandments? They are those of which the following, as quoted by the Son of God to the young man, are a part. "Thou shalt do no murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." These, being the last written by the finger of God on the tables of stone, [Deut. iv. 13.] point out to us our duty to our fellow-men, and the first four which our Saviour omitted to quote point out our duty to God as our Creator and Preserver, the fourth of which says, "The seventh day (not the first) is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." By this you see that God claims the seventh day of each succeeding week as his Sabbath or Rest-day, and no other. Hence we conclude, and we think justly, that the first-day Sabbath, so called, is a counterfeit, and belongs to, and is claimed by, the Man of Sin, (Papacy,) the son of perdition, [2 Thess. ii. 3, 4,] and to no one else; in proof of which see Dr. Butler's and Challoner's Catholic Catechisms, also extracts taken from these and other Catholic works published at the Review Office, and also the following. Sozomen in his Ecclesiastical History, B. I, C. 8, says, "He (Constantine) also made a law that on the dominical day which the Hebrews call the first of the week, the Greeks the day of the sun, and also on the day of Venus, i. e., Friday, judgments should not be given, or other business transacted; but that all should worship God with prayer and supplications, and venerate the dominical day, as on it Christ rose from the dead and the day of Venus as the day on which he was fixed to the cross. Dr. Chambers says, "It was Constantine the great who first made a law for the observance of Sunday, and who, according to Eusebius, appointed that it should be regularly celebrated throughout the Roman empire. Before him, and even in his time, they observed the Jewish Sabbath as well as Sunday." He adds, "Indeed, some are of the opinion that the Lord's day mentioned in the Apocalypse is our Sunday which they will have to have been so early instituted." By Constantine's laws, made in 321 it was decreed that for the future the Sunday should be kept a day of rest in all the cities and towns, but he allowed the country people to follow their work. In 538 the council of Orleans prohibited this country labor." By this you see that Constantine the great made the first law for Sunday-keeping, and not God; hence you see it is a tradition of men, and those who observe it are vain worshipers. Mark vii, 7. "Howbeit in vain do they worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Dear reader, pardon for this simple digression. We will now return to the subject. The fourth commandment, which says, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God," is a part of that law of which David speaks as follows, [Ps. cxix, 151, 152, 160.] "Thou art near, O Lord, and all (not nine tenths) of thy commandments are truth. Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them forever. Thy word is true from the beginning, and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever." The law of the Lord is perfect, therefore to alter it would be to make it imperfect. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart, the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned, and in keeping them there is great reward. Ps. xix, 7, 8, 11. God himself says by the mouth of the same prophet, My covenant (the tables of the covenant, the ten commandments, Ex. xxxiv, 27, 28; Deut. iv, 13; ix, 11, 15,) will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." Ps. lxxxix. 34. The Lord himself spake with an audible voice the words of the ten commandments in the presence of the assembled hosts of Israel on mount Sinai. See Ex. xx. 1-17. And God spake all these words, saying, &c. Then followed the ten commandments. See also Deut. v, 22; iv, 13. These commandments he says "I will not break nor alter;" therefore, dear reader, if you would enter into life you must keep the seventh day and not the first of each week as the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. Will you who keep the first day of the week for the Sabbath, and every week trample upon God's holy sanctified day of rest, and teach others, both by precept and example to do the same, remember that you are hedging up the way which Jesus the Son of God says leads to eternal life? Can you whilst persisting in such a course as this expect ever to inherit eternal life? or do you expect to get it some other way that the Son of God knew not of? If you do, I fear your hopes will perish. I would say, hedge up the way no longer, but step into the gap and be called a "repairer of the breach, a restorer of paths to dwell in." This you can be. Isa. lviii, 12, 13. Choose ye this day whom ye will serve; if God be God, serve him; if Baal, serve him; for ye cannot serve two masters. Again says Jesus, And I know that his (God's) commandment is life everlasting. John xii, 50. Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city. Rev. xxii, 14. Says Paul, It is written, Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 1 Cor. ii, 9. How are we to know that we love God? The inspired penman tells us, For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous. By this we know that we love the children of God (also) when we love God and keep his commandments. 1 John v, 2, 3. This test is sure, it is infallible. By it we may know whether we love God and his children as we ought. If we love him we show it by obeying him in keeping his commandments, and his commandment is life everlasting. Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy, the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Rev. xiv, 12. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter, Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man. Eccl. xii, 13. Dear reader, I will now leave the subject with you hoping that you and I may be profited by the teachings of the word of God, for says Jesus "Thy word is truth." John xvii, 17. Hastings, Mich., July 19th, 1867. A Testimony for Present Truth
By Cornelia Rice
DEAR BRETHREN: Did I have any way aside from the pen and the press to converse with you, gladly would I embrace it; but as I have not, I feel it a duty and a privilege to cast in my testimony on the side of present truth. Two years have now passed since I met with those who were looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour, but my faith has not faltered, but rather increased in the truths we advocate. I can say like one of old that whereas I was once blind, now I see. Can I ever disbelieve the truth of the Sabbath, or immortality through Christ? No, never, while I believe the Bible is the revealed will of God. Can I believe the seven churches passed away and all that was revealed concerning them had an end years ago? I cannot while all other sevens seem to come in consecutive order. Can I believe that Christ will come as a thief in the night to his church? Not while I believe it is our duty to watch as well as pray — and my desire is that my life may correspond with my faith. I do want that faith which works by love and purifies the heart. I want the testimony that I please God, and then I can feel that I shall soon meet you in our Father's kingdom. I greatly desire that some preaching brethren should come this way, and the people be constrained to hear the truth as it is in Jesus. Let us speak to each other oftener through the Review, and live so as to meet at the resurrection of the just. Your sister waiting for the redemption of Israel.
CORNELIA RICE.
Folsomdale, Pa., July 31st,, 1857. The Day of the Lord.
By James White
Most dreadful day! And is it near, and hasting on as fast as the rapid wheels of time can bring it? Yes, it hasteth! It hasteth greatly! What a description given by the Prophet. Read it, and as you read, try to feel how dreadful will be that day. "The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly." "That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers." "And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land." Zeph. i, 14-18. Now we hear the "peace and safety" cry, from the pulpit, and all the way along down to the grog-shop. "Where is the promise of his coming?" is murmured from the impious lips of a thousand last-day scoffers. Eating, drinking, marrying, building, planting, sowing, buying, selling, as in the days of Noah and Lot; in short, the cares, the pleasures and the spirit of this world, fill the whole heart and mind, leaving no room in the thoughts and affections for God, Christ and heaven. But the scene will speedily change. "For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape." The scoffing of the haughty scoffer will soon be turned to wailing and howling. "The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low." Isa. ii, 11, 12. "And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground." Jer. xxv, 33. Read the doom of the false shepherds, the ministers of the last generation of men, who come up to the day of the Lord with their garments all stained over with the blood of souls. They now cry, Peace and safety, and their flocks confide in them. They stand between us and the people and turn away the arrow of truth. But their day is coming, dreadful beyond description. Thus saith the Lord: "Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape." "A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the Lord hath spoiled their pasture. And the peaceable habitations are cut down, because of the fierce anger of the Lord." Jer. xxv, 34-37. The last plagues, in which are filled up the wrath of God, now bottled up in heaven, waiting for mercy to finish her last pleadings, will then be poured out—unmingled wrath of Jehovah!—And not one drop of mercy? Not one! Jesus will lay off his priestly attire, leave the mercy-seat, and put on the garments of vengeance, never to offer his blood to wash the sinner from his sins. The angels will wipe the last tear shed over sinners, while the mandate resounds through all heaven, Let them alone. The groaning, weeping, praying, preaching church on earth, who in the last message, use every means within their reach, and employ every power of their being to sound everywhere the Loud Cry, lest the blood of souls be found in their garments, are now hushed in solemn silence. The Holy Spirit has written within them these prophetic words of the soon expected Lord, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Rev. xxii, 11. Now the ministers of truth and righteousness have a message for the people, and gladly speak the words of life. They joyfully toil on, suffer on, and spend their energies in preaching to hearts as hard as steel, provided a few may be reached, and gathered into the truth; but then they will have no message. Now their prayers and strong cries ascend to heaven in behalf of sinners; but then they will have no spirit of prayer for them. Now the church says to the sinner, Come, the Spirit says, Come, and Jesus offers his blood to bring them to God; but then salvation's hour will be passed, and the sinner will be shut up in darkness and black despair. "And it shall come to pass in that day saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: and I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day." "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." Amos viii, 8-12. Now the word of the Lord may be heard, but sinners, in and out of the churches, do not prize it. Then it will not be heard, for the watchmen set to watch, and sound the alarm of danger, will be called down from their high stations. Now the word of the Lord is carried to the sinner, and offered without money or price; but he treats it carelessly, or drives the humble servant of Christ from his door. But then will they go in search for it, "They shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east," but they cannot hear it. "They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but shall not find it." From city to city, from state to state, from one country to another, will they go to find a man commissioned of high Heaven to speak the word of the Lord, but such an one is not to be found. All such will then have finished their high commission. The word of the Lord! The word of the Lord! Where can we hear it? is heard in every land. One general wail, The word of the Lord! goes up to heaven; but the heavens are brass. Then will the people turn and rend the false shepherds who deceived them with the cry of "peace and safety." Children will reproach parents for keeping them from walking in the truth, and parents their children. The miser now loves his money, and holds it with an iron grasp. Even some Sabbath-keepers do not hand out for the advancement of the cause of Bible truth more than ten or twenty-five per cent of their yearly increase, yet this they call a sacrifice! But it will be said in that day, "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 motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days." James v, 1-3. Now silver and gold may be used to God's glory, and the salvation of men. It can spread the truth in the form of publication, as well as by other means, not only in our own language, but in others. There is now a special call for the German and the French. Here scores of the wealthy have stumbled. They came out clear on the last Message, but when the plain word of the Lord was set before them in regard to the disposition of their wealth, they drew back, and have left the ranks. Others will go also. Here is the stumbling-block of their iniquity. But "They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord; they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels; because it is the stumbling-block of their iniquity." Eze. vii, 19. Now such may deliver their souls. "The cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word;" but a portion of these riches may be disposed of for God, and the soul thereby be delivered from useless care, and the deceitful power of a portion at least of their wealth. Now they may lay up a treasure in heaven, bags that wax not old. Now they may deposit in the bank of heaven, and deliver their soul. Then, overwhelmed with terror, they will cast their wealth in the mire of the streets; but "neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath." A Request for Lectures
By Perrin Scarborough
Bro. Smith: The Review comes regularly to hand. I take it from the Post Office, and read it through the first thing I do. I could not do without it. It is the best Advent paper I ever had. I have been blessed in reading it. I am poor, but can earn enough to pay for the paper. Cannot some one come here and give a course of lectures? The people here would come out to hear on the Sabbath. Our place is one mile from Haskel's Corners, on the New Albany and Salem Railroad. Should any come, they would find a pilgrim's home here. Yours for the truth.
Perrin Scarborough.
Bigelow's Mills, Ind., July 10th, 1857. Bro. A. G. Carter writes from Rubicon, Wis., Aug. 7th, 1857: "I think I have great reason to praise the Lord for the Laodicean message, for it has been the means of showing me my wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked condition. I feel determined by the grace of God to take heed to the warning of the faithful and true Witness, and buy the gold tried in the fire, and white raiment that I may be clothed, and anoint my eyes with eye-salve that I may see, and that it may be my happy lot to receive a crown at the appearing of my Lord with all the dear saints of God. I can say the Lord is good to send some of his messengers here to set before us the last message of mercy. It was a matter of rejoicing with me to meet with the dear saints in different parts of Wis. Did not our hearts burn in the love of the truth as it fell upon our ears. O may the Lord help us to treasure it up with good hearts, and grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord unto his glorious coming." Bro. T. E. Thorp writes from Plymouth, Wis., Aug. 9th, 1857: "I have just arrived in Wisconsin, where I find the people as a general thing anxious to hear the present truth. I preached last First-day on the Sabbath question, and some persecuted while others were convinced that I was right. Now the question is whether they have got religion enough to prompt them to duty or not. Some of them at least I think will take a stand for the truth." ENGINE.—As several have written us, making inquiries in regard to an Engine to run the Power Press, we would say that we design getting one of Hoard and Sons' patent portable Engines, manufactured in Watertown, N. Y. One of this description of 2½ horse power, which will be sufficient for our purpose, can be had for $250, which is far cheaper than any yet recommended, and if we may credit the testimony of those acquainted with steam power, a better article.