California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists · Oakland, Cal. · Mar 25, 1875
The Sermon.
By James White
SIGNS OF THE END.
BY ELD. JAMES WHITE.
(Concluded.)
"What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world."—DISCIPLES.
"When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."—JESUS. Matt. 24:3, 33.
CHARACTER OF THE WORK.
As to the character of the work which resulted from giving what was called the midnight cry, it evidently was the special work of God. It was not, as many suppose, the result of fanaticism.
1. Because it bore the marks of the especial providence of God. It was not characterized by those extremes ever manifested where human excitement, and not the word and Spirit of God, has the controlling influence. It was in harmony with those seasons of humiliation, rending of heart, confession, and complete consecration of all, which are matters of history in the Old Testament, and are made matters of duty in the New.
2. Because it was subversive of all those forms of fanaticism which had made their appearance somewhat in connection with the second-advent cause. These were at once swallowed up by the solemn power of the midnight cry, as the rods of the magicians were by the rod of Aaron.
3. Because the work was marked with sobriety, humility, solemnity, reverence, self-examination, repentance, confessions, and tears, instead of lightness, exaltation, trifling, irreverent expressions, self-justification, pride in spiritual things, voluntary humility and will-worship, which generally characterize the conduct of fanatics.
4. Because the work bore the fruit of the Spirit of God, as set forth in the New Testament. It was evidently guided by wisdom from above. The apostle James declares this wisdom to be "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." Chap. 3:17. Paul says that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Gal. 5:22, 23. These are the good fruits of the work and Spirit of God, and these did all appear in an eminent sense as the results of the midnight cry.
Of all the great religious movements since the days of the first apostles of our Lord, none stand out more pure and free from the imperfections of human nature and the wiles of Satan, than that of the autumn of 1844. In fact, after looking back upon it for more than twenty-six years as the greenest spot on all the way in which God has led his people, we do not see how it could have been better, at least so far as the direct providence and work of God is concerned. It was beyond the control of human hands, or human minds. Men and demons sought to hinder and to mar this work; but the power that attended it brushed away their influence as you would remove a spider's web, and there stood the work of God, free from the print of a man's hand.
The Advent Shield published in January, 1845, bears testimony to the character of that work, in words of truth and soberness. And let it be borne in mind that the Shield was a standard work, of 440 pages, for Adventists at that time, and that the following testimony from it was not published till about three months after the seventh-month movement, when Adventists had taken time to review the past, and settle, as was supposed, upon a firm, united position:—
"It produced everywhere the most deep searching of heart and humiliation of soul before the God of high Heaven. It caused a weaning of affections from the things of this world, a healing of the controversies and animosities, a confession of wrongs, a breaking down before God, and penitent, broken-hearted supplications to him for pardon and acceptance. It caused self-abasement and prostration of soul, such as we never before witnessed."
Verses 8, 9: "And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you; but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves." Those who had no part in the great advent movement can scarcely form any idea of that work. But those who took part in that work know that the burden of testimony to believers everywhere was that the preparation was an individual work. All were faithfully warned to look to God, and obtain an individual experience. The urgent request for help from those in whom the work had been superficial, and the faithful responses of those who had the work at heart, are well illustrated by the above conversation between the foolish and wise virgins.
THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB.
Verse 10: "And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut." There are two things which the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments illustrate by marriage: First, the union of God's people in all past ages, as well as at the present time, with their Lord; second, Christ's reception of the throne of David, which is in the New Jerusalem. But union of believers with their Lord has existed since the days of Adam, and cannot be regarded as the marriage of the Lamb. It is supposed that Isaiah (54:5) speaks of the church when he says, "Thy Maker is thine husband;" But Paul, in Gal. 4, applies this prophecy to the New Jerusalem. Says John, speaking of Christ, "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom." John 3:29. That Christ is here represented in his relation to his followers by a bridegroom, and his followers by a bride, is true; but that he and they are here called the bridegroom and bride, is not true. No one believes that the event called the marriage of the Lamb took place eighteen hundred years since.
Paul, in writing to the church, 2 Cor. 11:2, says, "I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you a chaste virgin to Christ." But does this prove that the marriage of the Lamb took place in Corinth? or, did Paul only wish to represent by marriage, the union which he had effected, through the gospel, between Christ and the church at Corinth? He also says, Eph. 5:23, "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church." But please turn and read from verse 22, and it will be seen that Paul's subject is the relation and duty of man and wife to each other. This is illustrated and enforced by the relation of Christ and the church. Those who suppose that Paul is here defining who the Lamb's wife is, are greatly mistaken. That is not his subject. He commences, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands." Verse 22. "Husbands, love your wives." Verse 25.
The marriage of the Lamb does not cover the entire period of probation, in which believers are united to their Lord, from Adam to the close of probation. It is one event, to take place at one point of time, and that is just prior to the resurrection of the just. Then what is the bride in the marriage of the Lamb? Said the angel to John, "Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife." Rev. 21:9. Did the angel show John the church? "And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God." Verse 10.
The New Jerusalem is also represented as the mother. "But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." Gal. 4:26. Christ is represented (Isa. 9:6) as the "everlasting Father" of his people; the New Jerusalem, the mother, and the subjects of the first resurrection, the children. And, beyond all doubt, the resurrection of the just is represented by birth. How appropriate, then, is the view that the marriage of the Lamb takes place in Heaven before the Lord comes, and before the children of the great family of Heaven are brought forth at the resurrection of the just.
Let those who are disposed to cling to the old view that the church is the bride, and that the marriage is after Christ comes, and the saints are caught up to Heaven, answer the following questions:
1. Who are illustrated by the man found at the marriage, Matt. 22, not having on the wedding garment? Will any be caught up by mistake, to be bound hand and foot, and cast down to the earth again?
2. If the church is the bride, who are they that are called to the marriage as guests?
3. Jerusalem above is the mother of the children of promise; but if the church is the Lamb's wife, who are the children?
The marriage of the Lamb is Christ's reception of the throne of David, or his own throne, which is the New Jerusalem above. That city is finally to come down upon the new earth, to be the capital of the everlasting kingdom. The event illustrated by the coming of the bridegroom in the parable, is thus described by the prophet: "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him." Dan. 7:13, 14. This language describes a grand transaction in Heaven between the Father and the Son. The Son, at his second advent to this world, does not approach the Father. So far from this, the apostle represents the Father as remaining in Heaven, and sending his Son. "And he [the Father] shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you." Acts 3:20.
The words of the Psalmist are to the point: "Ask of me [says the Father to the Son], and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." Ps. 2:8, 9. Before the Son makes his second advent to this world, he receives from the Father "dominion, and glory, and a kingdom."
After the coronation of the King of kings, or the marriage of the Lamb, the opening heavens will reveal him coming in grandeur and in glory, leading on the armies of Heaven to the last great conflict with the beast, the false prophet, and the kings of the earth. See Rev. 19. "His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns." "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords."
His mission then will be to "judge and make war." He will then destroy his enemies, and redeem his people. The marriage is over, and his people are still waiting his return. The true position of the waiting ones is thus described: "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning: and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding." Luke 12:35, 36.
In the parable, while the foolish virgins were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came; those that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. Our position is, that before the second advent, events take place on earth and in Heaven, connected with the experience and history of those who are called out to wait for the Lord, which may be, and will be, likened, or compared, to the several events of an eastern marriage named by our Lord. The bridegroom, in the parable, represents Christ. The coming of the bridegroom, and the marriage, in the parable, represent events that take place in Heaven in connection with the reception of the throne of the immortal kingdom by the rightful heir, Jesus Christ. The marriage of the Lamb takes place before the second advent, so that at Christ's second appearing he returns from the wedding. These facts will appear evident from a close examination of Ps. 2:8, 9; Dan. 7:13, 14; Matt. 12:36.
The shutting of the door, in this parable, does not represent the closing of human probation, sometimes called the shutting of the door of mercy. That last decisive event is at the close of Christ's ministration in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, and is spoken of by our Lord thus: "When once the Master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are." Luke 13:25. That is when Jesus rises from his mediatorial work, lays off his priestly garments, and puts on his royal robes. Then will the King of kings proclaim in Heaven, to be repeated by the church on earth: "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. And behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me." Rev. 22:11, 12. "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of Thy people, and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was." Dan. 12:1.
But the shut door of the parable illustrates the closing of Christ's work in the holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, at the end of the 2300 prophetic days of Dan. 8:14, when the heavenly Bridegroom entered upon that last work of atonement which is to terminate in his union with the throne of the immortal kingdom. See works on the cleansing of the sanctuary.
At that time Christ closed one distinct ministration, or shut the door of the holy place, and opened another distinct ministration, or opened the door of the most holy place, as he, the great high priest, entered it to cleanse the sanctuary.
This open, and this shut, door, are thus spoken of in the address to the Philadelphia church: "These things saith He that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David,154he that openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it." Rev. 3:7, 8. The term "key of David," in this text, has direct reference to Christ's reception of the throne of David, which is his rightful throne, the throne of the immortal kingdom. And the entire address to the Philadelphia (brotherly love) church applies to that glorious period in the history of Adventists, when, by the power of the midnight cry in the autumn of 1844, every heart beat in union, and every voice was raised in the joyful proclamation, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him." Was the door of mercy then shut? No! The truth is so far from this that the Coming One declares to his dear, waiting people, "Behold, I have set before thee an open door." This door our great High Priest opened when he entered upon the work of cleansing the heavenly sanctuary from the sins of all his people. Before the ark of the ten commandments and the mercy-seat, he stands, ready to offer his blood in behalf of all who will, by faith, enter with him.
Verses 11–13: "Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." The wise virgins represent those who occupied a correct position in 1844, and those who still receive it and adhere to it. These were in a state of acceptance with Christ, and could be represented as going in with him to the marriage. And do not the foolish virgins, who came afterward represent those who in 1854 occupied an erroneous position in regard to the prophetic periods?
The light upon the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary had been given. The open door of the most holy place, revealing the ark of the ten commandments, had been set before all Adventists. But many closed their eyes, and rebelled against the law of God in that ark. The rejection of so clear light left them exposed to the terrible delusion of a false time movement in 1854. And the folly of these timeists is manifested in that they have departed from the true position on time, have rejected the open door, and are in rebellion against the law of God.
Just as the Hebrew priest received
The first sheaf from the reaper's hand,
And to the Lord, whom they believed,
Offered the harvest of the land,
So Jesus, risen from the tomb,
Where love had laid him gently down,
Came to the altar, in the bloom
Of that new life which won his crown.
"Christ the firstfruits!" the first ripe sheaf
Of the wide world's great harvest field;
The perfect pattern, type, and chief,
Of all the treasures death shall yield.
So let the precious seed be sown
In every furrow of the earth;
Beneath the seas, in graves unknown,
Till Christ shall send the reapers forth.
Lord of the living and the dead,
Who art alive forevermore,
Thy sleeping saints await their Head,
Like Mary at the open door.
They shall come with thee in that hour
When, without sin, thou com'st to save.
They shall be like thee, by thy power
To conquer death and spoil the grave.
Break, break, O morning fair and bright!
Wake all the sleepers of the tomb;
O sun of glory! with thy light
Flood the dark vale, dispel its gloom.
Wave thy ripe sheaf, O Prince of life,
In the great house not made with hands,
And at thine altar end the strife
With death and sorrow in all lands.
"Christ the firstfruits!" and afterward
They that are Christ's when he shall come;
The best sheaf lifted heavenward,
Then the full garnered harvest-home.
Then shall our harvest-joy arise,
When all thy sheaves are safe at home.
Singing the hymn of paradise,
"Thy will be done! Thy kingdom come!"
—Bible Society Record.
WILL SATAN BE DESTROYED?
By D. M. Canright
Ministration of Angels.
(Concluded.)
WILL SATAN BE DESTROYED?
It is the popular opinion that the devil and his angels will never cease to exist, but live on to all eternity in hell, to blaspheme God and torment the wicked. But is this reasonable? Is it Bible? Certainly it would not benefit the devils themselves; for they are lost beyond hope of recovery. Could a God of love and mercy himself take pleasure in such an awful scene of eternal woe and suffering? Is it necessary to keep such an example eternally in view of the saints and angels to keep them in subjection? Shall such a foul blot eternally remain to mar the beauty and happiness of God’s fair universe? No. Such a thought is as abhorrent to reason as it is opposed to the Bible. Truth and righteousness alone are enduring and eternal. Sin and sinners are both an abnormal development, at war with the Creator, and, in the nature of things, must come to an end. God once had a clean universe, and he will have it again.
The Bible teaches that both wicked men and devils will be destroyed, and cease to pollute God’s government. Heb. 2:14, says, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself [Jesus] likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Then the devil will be destroyed. We have seen that the “covering cherub” of Eze. 28 is the devil. God says of him, “I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness; I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee; and thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.”
Here we see that Satan is to be “brought to ashes upon the earth,” and that he will then cease to exist, as he “never shall be any more.” He is the king of rebels. For him God will prepare the lake of fire. All who follow his ways will be cast into it with him. To the wicked God will say: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matt. 25:41. Upon the same subject the prophet says, “For Tophet is ordained of old, yea, for the king [Satan] it is prepared. He hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood. The breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.” Isa. 30:33.
The devil will be blotted out of existence, and all his works with him. Wicked men are the works of the devil. Will they be destroyed? Let John answer: “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8. Not only will the devil himself be destroyed, but those also who have followed his ways. Says David, “All the wicked will God destroy.”
Peter states that as the earth was once cleansed by water in the flood, so it will be purified again by fire at the day of Judgment. “But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up.” 2 Pet. 3:5-7, 10.
By this we see that the earth is to be dissolved, melted by intense heat, and the works in the world will be burned up. But is the earth to burn eternally? No; for Peter, after describing the perdition of ungodly men in the lake of fire, and the purifying of the earth by the same, says, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” Verse 13.
For six thousand years the earth has been polluted by Satan and his works, sin, and sinners. But all these will be burned up. Then the earth will once more be pure as it was when it first came from the hands of its Maker. The lake of fire which purifies the earth is spoken of in Rev. 20:14, 15; 21:1. “And death and hell [the grave] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” From the lake of fire which cleanses this old earth, comes forth the new earth which is to be the abode of the righteous. The devil, the author of sin, the father of lies, the enemy of God, and the seducer of the human race, is destroyed in the lake of fire. He is reduced to ashes, put out of existence. Wicked men who have followed his counsel and rejected God, are destroyed with him. Then the saints go forth once more and possess the earth, their long-lost home. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Then God will again have a clean universe. Neither sin nor sinners will exist anywhere in the vast realm of God. The conflict of ages is ended; God’s people are forever safe. Then we can sing with the poet,
“Time past,The righteous saved, the wicked dead,And God’s eternal government approved.”
This time will surely come. We have so long lived amid sin and rebellion, have so long been accustomed to vice and wickedness, have so long been shut away from Heaven and God, that we cannot realize that it will ever be otherwise. Now, upon this earth, unrighteousness is popular, and “he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.” Here, the righteous are vastly in the minority; but it is only here. When we remember the “innumerable company of angels,” who are yet loyal to their God, we see that the righteous are really in the majority. For a short time, the devil has succeeded in defiling a small part, a mere atom, of God’s creation. God has permitted him to go on for a time with impunity, till he has fully developed the awful consequences of sin and rebellion against the all-wise Creator. He will serve as an example to all the intelligent creatures of God, that they may see the utter folly of disobeying the Almighty. God will soon wipe out the blot which Satan has made on his universe, by the utter destruction of Satan and all his works.
Then will be fulfilled what God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. God “shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you; whom the Heaven must receive, until the times of restitution of all things.” Acts 3:20, 21. As righteous men and loyal angels behold the punishment of wicked men and devils, they can sing, “Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of ages” (margin). Rev. 15:3.
Now what has Satan gained by his rebellion? Nothing but the poor satisfaction, for a short time, of having done evil. He has lost all the joys of Heaven, the pleasure there is in doing right, and the consciousness of being pure and innocent, and the happiness of being the friend of God. But, above all, he has lost ETERNAL LIFE. Had he remained obedient to God, he would have lived unto all eternity without pain, or sickness, or the fear of death. But now he must die—must cease to exist. Oh! what an awful thought it must be to Satan, who once occupied so exalted a position in Heaven! Can we suppose that the devil has been happy for the last six thousand years in the woe and misery which he has produced in the world? No; it is impossible.
When we look upon the awful condition of the world, we are sometimes tempted to question the wisdom of God in permitting things to continue in such a state so long, and think that it would not be so if we had the control of matters. But let us remember that God is from everlasting to everlasting, the Eternal One. Our world has existed only about six thousand years. Here is a man sixty years old. It seems but a few days since he was a little boy; yet he has lived one-hundredth part of the time that the world has stood. One hundred such men in succession would reach from the foundation of the world to the present time. Then how brief a period is the world’s history! At the longest it is only a moment, compared with eternity. Think of the eternity which is past. Where did it begin? Imagine the eternity to come. Where will it end? Remember that God’s purposes reach from eternity to eternity. Then why should it be thought a thing incredible by us that God should permit the devil to go on for so short a time with impunity, till he has fully developed his character and the consequences of sin?
Again, this earth, as compared with all the worlds of the vast universe of God, is no more than one grain of sand in comparison with the whole earth. The sun alone is as large as thirteen hundred thousand worlds like ours! At the rate of thirty miles per day, it would take a man over two hundred and forty years to travel around it. The planet Jupiter is 490 millions of miles distant from the sun. Its diameter is 89,000 miles, it being about fourteen hundred times as large as the earth! The nearest fixed star is so far distant that it would require a ball, moving at the rate of 500 miles an hour, over 4,500,000 years, or 750 times the period which has elapsed since the foundation of the world, to reach it from this earth! Many of these stars are thousands of times larger than our earth, and, probably, they are all inhabited.
Most of the stars we see are suns giving light to many planets revolving around them. This very fact shows that these planets are inhabited. If they were not, why should God provide suns to give them light? How many such worlds are there? Look at the stars, and count them! There are millions upon millions! How insignificant is this little speck of earth when compared with them? Truly God has said that all nations are before him as nothing, or as a drop in the bucket.
“Some astronomers have computed that there are not less than 75,000,000 suns in the universe. The fixed stars are all suns, having, like our sun, numerous planets revolving around them. The solar system, or that to which we belong, has about thirty planets, primary and secondary, belonging to it. The circular field of space which it occupies, is in diameter 3600 millions of miles, and that which it controls much greater. The sun which is nearest neighbor to ours, is called Sirius, distant from our sun about 852,000,000 of miles. Now, if all the fixed stars are as distant from each other as Sirius is from our sun, or if our solar system be the average magnitude of all the 75 millions of suns, what imagination can grasp the immensity of creation! Who can survey a plantation containing 75 millions of circular fields, each thirty-six hundred millions of miles in diameter? Such, however, is one of the plantations of Him who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand—meted out heaven with a span—comprehended the dust in a measure—and weighed out the mountains in scales, and hills in a balance—He who, sitting upon the orbit of the earth, stretches out heaven as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in. Nations to him are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance.”—Christian Almanac.
When we view the subject in this light, considering the infinitely small portion of creation which this earth really occupies, and the brief period of its history in sin, and remember that Satan’s work has been confined to this small sphere, and that even this will soon be restored to its original condition, and that the devil will be punished for his crimes, all is reasonable, plain, and consistent. It is only when we take a narrow, contracted view of the matter that we are led to question the wisdom of God’s dealings with this world.
As the eternal ages roll on, men almost forget that such a state of things ever existed. It will only be remembered as a passing cloud, or a sad moment in man’s whole life. Oh! happy day! May it soon dawn! Then will be realized the glorious scene described in Rev. 5:13: “And every creature which is in Heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, forever and ever.” Dear reader, when the present unhappy state of our world has passed away, when sin and wickedness are no more, when devils and wicked men have been destroyed for their crimes, when the earth shall bloom again as the garden of Eden, when the “times of restitution of all things” come, may it be our happy lot to have a part in this joyful song of praise to God and the Lamb. Amen.
D. M. CANRIGHT.
Religion of the Day.
By H. Bonar
THE religion of the day is an easy-minded religion; a religion without conflict and wrestling, without self-denial and sacrifice; a religion which knows nothing of the pangs of the new birth as its commencement, and nothing of the desperate struggle with the devil, day by day, making us long for resurrection-deliverance, for the binding of the adversary, and for the Lord's arrival.
It is a second-rate religion—a religion in which there is no largeness, no grandeur, no potency, no noble-mindedness, no elevation, no self-devotedness, no all-constraining love.
It is a hollow religion, with a fair exterior, but an aching heart—a heart unsatisfied, a soul not at rest, a conscience not at peace with God; a religion marked, it may be, by activity and excitement, but betraying all the while the consciousness of a wound hidden and unhealed within, and hence unable to animate to lofty doings, or supply the strength needed for such doings.
It is a feeble religion, lacking the sinews and bones of hardier times—very different from the indomitable, much-enduring, storm-braving religion, not merely of apostolic days, but even of the Reformation.
It is an uncertain religion; that is to say, it is not rooted in certainty; it is not the outflowing of a soul assured of pardon, and rejoicing in filial relationship between itself and God.
Hence, there is no liberty of service; for the question of personal acceptance is still an unsettled thing; there is a working for pardon, but not from pardon.
Hence all is bondage, heaviness, irksomeness.
There is a speaking for God, but it is with a faltering tongue; there is a laboring for God, but it is with fettered hands; there is a moving in the way of his commandments, but it is with a heavy drag upon our limbs.
Hence the inefficient, uninfluential character of our religion.
It does not tell on others; for it has not fully told upon ourselves.
It falls short of its mark, for the arm that drew the bow, was paralyzed.—H. Bonar.
Modern Churches.
THE Rev. O. B. Frothingham, in speaking of modern church temples, says: The rich may worship there; the poor cannot even do that. They are not for the people. They are not houses of prayer for all nations; for none but the special believers enter. Hardly are they houses of prayer at all; but houses, rather, where fashion worships fashion, and wealth pays homage to wealth. In these edifices, science has no part, neither has philosophy, nor culture, nor literature, nor thought. They are not temples of the mind. Social reform rarely comes in there; and never, except on sectarian terms. The causes that concern the people are seldom presented. The interests of the class to which Jesus belonged are feebly considered. They who assemble are not one in a spiritual, moral, or even social sense; one they may be in a dogmatic sense, as fellow-believers—not one in a human sense, as fellow-men; one as excluding doubters, skeptics, heretics—not one as comprehending all who have wants to meet. Prejudice may enter; bigotry may make itself at home; the spirit of a narrow proselytism may take up its abode and be undisturbed; but the lowly spirit of truth has no welcome.