Advent Review, and Sabbath Herald, vol. 18
May 28, 1861
RH VOL. XVIII. - BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, - NO. 2
James White
ADVENT REVIEW,
AND SABBATH HERALD
[Graphic of the Ark of the Covenant with the inscription beneath,]
“And there was Seen in His Temple
the Ark of His Testament.”
“Here is the Patience of the Saints; Here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus.”
VOL. XVIII. - BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, MAY 28, 1861. - NO. 2.
The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald
is published weekly, at One Dollar a Volume of 26 Nos. in advance.
J. P. KELLOGG, CYRENIUS SMITH AND D. R. PALMER,
Publishing Committee.
Uriah Smith, Resident Editor. J. N. Andrews, James White, J. H. Waggoner, R. F. Cottrell, and Stephen Pierce, Corresponding Editors.
Address REVIEW AND HERALD Battle Creek, Mich.
WAITING
AT the beautiful gate of the Temple,
Full many a year ago,
A lame man waited, with silent eye,
Watching the ebb and the flow.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 9.1
Of the ceaseless tide of worshipers,
As they passed by, one by one,
From the gray of the early morning,
To the set of the golden sun.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 9.2
The volume of inspiration
Tells of the lame made whole;
How the healing balm of heaven
Was poured on his waiting soul.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 9.3
At the beautiful gate of thy mercy
My spirit, O Father, waits;
It looks for a gleam of glory,
A hope from the golden gates.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 9.4
And the hymns of its adoration,
Rise mingled with tears of pain,
As morn to night, and night to morn,
It watches and waits in vain.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 9.5
Send, Father, some holy angel
To open the golden gate;
To pour the beam of glory
On spirits that hope and wait.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 9.6
To whisper of thee in heaven,
And teach us to see aright;
On our souls to pour a chrism -
On our eyes a heavenly light.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 9.7
NOAH - HIS AGE AND OURS
WE enter here on one of the great parallelisms of time. The coincidences we discover between the age of Noah and the nineteenth century are significant signs. They are proofs of the earth’s old age, and yet foretokens of its predicted youth. Our Lord says, “As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:26-29. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 9.8
History, whether sacred or profane, seems always to repeat itself. One great era in the world appears, when narrowly examined, to be simply the reflection of another; and a deed done in the day that now is, to be the echo of a deed done hundreds or thousands of years ago. Time seems to move in circles, history constantly to repeat itself, and so far to illustrate the maxim of the wise man, “There is nothing new under the sun.” When we examine great and startling epochs in the history of the world, we find points of contact, analogies, and coincidences most suggestive. The deluge, the destruction of Jerusalem, the end of this age, all seem to have coincident points running, like sea and land, into each other. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 9.9
The age of Noah is a prefiguration of the age that now is, - the last great epoch of this world’s life. History is never obsolete. He that knows best the history of the past, humanly speaking, will be the truest prophet of the character of the future. Some one made the remark in scorn, “History is an old almanac.” He stated a great truth, though he did not intend it. How does the almanac of this year differ from the almanac of the last? The dates differ slightly, but the acts are the same, the tides the same, the rising and setting of the sun, summer and winter, spring and autumn. History is an old almanac; it is the same great drama, only with different actors, and slight changes in the parts that they play. If you take the events of the last two thousand years and compare them with the events of the four thousand that preceded, you will be struck by the number of beautiful and interesting coincidences. The study of Genesis is a preparation for the study of the Apocalypse. Acquaintance with Leviticus is a ground-work for acquaintance with the gospel according to St. John. The history of humanity in the desert is a type and prefiguration of humanity in the age in which our lot is now cast. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 9.10
Human nature as far as disconnected with the gospel, and uninfluenced by its elements, is the same in the days of Napoleon that it was in the days of Noah. The nineteenth century from creation, and the nineteenth century from the Christian era, in which we live, are very much facsimiles the one of the other; and where the difference is visible, that difference is the result of the touch of transforming grace, not the inherent attainment or development of original excellence in human nature. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 9.11
Jesus, in his assertion of parallelism, recognizes Genesis as scripture. It is worth while to notice these points; because, admit the New Testament to be divine, and you cannot escape the conclusion that the Old is equally so; because the writers and speakers in the New quote the sentiments of the writers of the Old. Jesus quotes Genesis as true history. You are aware the Rationalists in Germany - called Rationalists, as they think themselves, from excess of reason, just as lucus, from lux, light, is the Latin for a grove, from its non lucendo, from its having no light; so these men are called Rationalists, because they have no reason - say that the tower of Babel, and Abraham leaving Ur of the Chaldees, and the flood, are myths - that is, fables. They say it was not a real history, but a fable, just as the parable of the prodigal son, or the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. But here our blessed Lord refers to Noah as a real person, to the flood as a fact, to the characteristics of that generation as types and prefigurations of the characteristics of ours; and in all respects he attests the authenticity of Genesis, the reality of its history; and that if Rationalists proclaim it to be a myth, the Way, the Truth, and the Life has anticipated them, by pronouncing it sacred and instructive history. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 9.12
The prophecy, however, that we are now to consider is, that men shall be at the close of this age just as they were at the close of the antediluvian age. But what was the character of the people at the time of the flood? and by finding the sketch of them as given by the inspired pencil, we shall be able to ascertain what shall be the character of those who shall live immediately before our Lord’s coming. The condition and character of the world in the days of Noah are thus described: “And it came to pass, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh. There were giants in the earth in those days. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” Here is the portrait; not drawn by an inaccurate pen, but by the faithful historian, who was inspired by the Spirit of God to sketch it truly, and to set down nothing that was false. We may expect, then, that the next generation will be something like a reflection of this first. We are told that in the days of Noah the heart of man was deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. And is the natural heart improved now? There is no evidence that it is. Sins as grievous, crimes as flagrant, emanate from the unsanctified and unregenerate heart now as ever emanated from it in the days of Noah. We may be more civilized than they were in Noah’s days, but not more sanctified; we may have more science, but we may not have more grace. If God’s word speaks intelligibly it speaks pointedly, that out of the heart proceed all evil thoughts, appetites and desires, until that heart is sanctified by the Holy Spirit of God. It is a great mistake to think that education without religion makes man’s heart one whit holier. We do not fear education in science; we only contend that it is not sufficient to make man holy, or to make him happy hereafter. In fact, education without religion does man so far good - that it tends to civilize him, but it does not one whit sanctify him; it needs the element of religion to accomplish that; and because we say mere secular education is not sufficient, we do not say it is not in itself good; however, all it can do is to improve man as an inhabitant of this world; it cannot fit man for being an inhabitant of a higher. If I carry filings of steel from a muddy street to a beautiful walk, or to a lovely garden, I make an improvement in their condition; but if I take a magnet and apply it to them I give them another motion altogether, and lift them not horizontally, but vertically from the earth. Secular education lifts man from degradation unto social civilization; but it is only a change of locality on the earth; it is a horizontal change; but grace touches him with its magnetic attraction, and draws him, not from one part of the earth to another; but from the earth to heaven, from grace to glory, closer and nearer to God. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 9.13
The heart of man is not one whit changed in its inherent nature from what it was in the days of Noah and immediately before the flood. David said it was the same in his days that it was in those of Noah; and faithful history records the crimes that have found their origin in the heart, and stained the annals of the fairest realms of Europe. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 10.1
It is also written, that in the days of Noah the earth was filled with violence, that is, war, conflict, revolt, dispute. And are we very much wiser now? It was predicted by the great advocates, not of peace, but of the peace society, some years ago, that now war had become an obsolete thing, that all our shot should at once be made into rails, that our cannon should be turned into locomotives, our muskets sold as old iron, and our ships as fire-wood, and in fact that a mere pretence of a guard was all that we wanted on the shores of England, and that Europe had learned enough of war up to 1814 to shrink from it forever. Had these men recollected that as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be when the Son of man cometh, they would have paused before they prophesied so badly. What better testimony can we have to what man is capable of, than that the very people who shed torrents of blood, and committed the awful deeds of 1793, did things, if possible, more awful in 1848? And at this present moment all Europe is one vast volcano, waiting for the match to be applied to explode into a thousand fragments. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 10.2
Notwithstanding all prophecies of peace, the nations are at this moment as ready for war as ever. This seems very strange; it only shows that men are not yet tired of war, and that until the Prince of peace shall sway his scepter over a transformed world there may be “peace, peace,” - the calm, the quiet - but not the permanent peace that keeps the heart and mind continually. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 10.3
In the days of Noah, not only was the earth filled with violence, so that we may expect the same violence to be exhibited again; but out of all that vast population there were only eight persons that obeyed God’s word, that worshiped the true God, and honored him. Far be it from me to pronounce where to pray is duty; but is it not fact at this moment, that if you take Christendom at large, you cannot say that the majority are Christians; you cannot say that the majority of the professing church are true, spiritually-minded Christians? It is still true that “broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat;” and “narrow is the way that leadeth to life, and few there be that find it.” As “it was in the days of Noah” - that the overwhelming majority were opposed to the truth, and enamored of a lie - so previous to Christ’s second advent in the bursting cloud that reveals the lightning in its splendor, and ushers in the Lord of glory, the great multitude will be without God, and without Christ, and without hope in the world. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 10.4
Another feature of the men in the days of Noah was their intense worldliness. They were eating, drinking, marrying wives, and giving in marriage. Now there was no sin in any of these. It was not sinful, but dutiful to eat and drink, if they did so in moderation; it was lawful to marry then as it is lawful and dutiful to marry now, ever remembering the grand modifying law that gives it all its consistency and its beauty: “Let them that marry be as though they married not; and they that weep as though they wept not; and they that rejoice as though they rejoiced not; and they that use the world as not abusing it, knowing that the fashion of it speedily passeth away.” What was the sin of the antediluvians in eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage? It was the excessive love of the lawful which corrupted them, as truly as their constant indulgence in the sinful. Never forget the danger we are in, in loving to excess what is lawful as well as in practicing that which is forbidden; and there is probably more peril in the excessive love of the lawful than there is in the forbidden practice of the sinful. More men lose their souls by being absorbed in practices that are in themselves unexceptionable, than in practices that are positively sinful and forbidden. The world then was their temple; indulgences of the appetites was their delight; the gratification of the flesh was their enjoyment. They were the slaves of appetite, the servants of the world. This world was their all; they made the most of it - “Eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die.” But on the supposition that there is a world beyond it where the deeds of the present have their echo in the retributions of the future, their conduct was disobedient in the extreme. Now it will be so at the end of this dispensation. Men will eat and drink, and marry and give in marriage, and they will think nothing of the future. While it is their privilege and their duty to trade, they will not simply be in the world - where God has placed them - but they will be of the world, where Christians ought not to be. And the reason of this was that they were in those days atheists, or they lived without God. Now an atheist we shrink from in horror, and very justly. I cannot conceive a rational being with one ounce of common sense to come to the conclusion that there is not a God who made and governs this present world. The thing seems so absurd, that the man who could arrive at such a conclusion seems only fit to be the inmate of a lunatic asylum. The Psalmist’s statement, “men that say, No God,” does not mean that in David’s days they were so foolish, as to conclude logically, “no God.” If it were written not in the Hebrew, but in Greek, it would have been in the optative mood. “The fool hath said in his heart,” not “There is no God;” but, “I wish there was no God.” He cannot avoid the logical conclusion that there is a God; but he wishes that he could continue in his sins, and feel that there were no God to see him or to call him to account. The spirit of atheism may be where there is a perfect horror of the idea of an atheist. The man who explains every phenomenon without God, who sees nature’s laws, but cannot see beyond them nature’s Lawgiver, who accounts for every, occurrence, prosperous or adverse, painful or pleasant, retribution or blessing, without God, may theoretically be no atheist, but practically he is so. He is an atheist who looks on everything, and thinks of everything practically on the hypothesis that there is no God. He enters on tomorrow’s duties not feeling, “If the Lord will, or if the Lord will not;” he goes to to-morrow’s business calculating upon all he can do, and all he will do, not recognizing the possibly disturbing element, there is a God; such a man is not theoretically an atheist, but practically he is one. He is, as the Apostle describes him, “without God.” For “atheist” does not mean a person opposed to God, but a person without God. An antitheist is one opposed to God. Voltaire was an antitheist, that is, one who deliberately and avowedly opposed and hated God; who swore in his blasphemy that he would dethrone him; whose letters closed with the execration that he would erase Christ’s name from the earth. He was not an atheist but an antitheist - one full of conscious enmity to God, opposed to him, and determined at all hazards, and whatever might be the issue, to resist him. But many that profess to be Christians, in their practical life, are without God, by omitting him and his will and sovereignty in their calculations. At the same time we must be very careful not to see God in judgments only, but in mercies and blessings also. Many persons are atheists when mercies are showered upon them, and recognize God only when judgments overtake them. I see God in sunshine, if possible, more emphatically than in cloud. I see him in the golden harvest, in its plentiful abundance, more clearly than I see him in the waves and waters of misfortune. I would wish more to see God in prosperity, and more to see myself, and my sins, and my unworthiness in adversity. But man’s tendency is to see God when trouble comes, forgetting that his sin alone is to blame; and to see himself when prosperity comes, and to praise his own ingenuity and cleverness. It is the Christian’s joy to see God in all that is beneficent, and beautiful, and happy; and to see his own sins, and wickedness, and guilt in the evils and the judgments that occasionally overtake him. - Cumming. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 10.5
(To be continued.)
CHRISTIAN KINDNESS
THE grace of christian kindness cannot be too highly prized, nor can it be too freely exercised in this life of vicissitudes, where all are alike subject to trials, temptations and besetments, and where the christian warfare never ceases. No one but the fault-finding Pharisee boasts of his having attained to the high state of christian perfection, where he can look down upon his less favored brother with an air of “christian contempt,” nor does any but the cold-hearted scoffer taunt them when they stumble and fall. In times of temptation the charitable Christian will suffer long and be kind. When we are bereaved and sorrow has stricken our heart, the sympathizing brother will soothe our griefs and administer words of comfort, and when it is ours to be sorely tried, the true-hearted Christian will in some way exercise toward us the grace of christian kindness. Oh! how quieting to the desponding soul are the words, sweet words of christian kindness! And to the weary pilgrim, when tired and almost forsaken, how comforting are kind words and acts exercised towards him by a fellow Christian! The best Christians are not always on the mountain of delights, nor are they exempt from the buffetings of Satan. All are liable to err, and are alike exposed to the poisoned arrows of the enemy. Let us consider the matter wisely, and not forget that we are frail, erring mortals, and that in us dwelleth no good thing. Let us, instead of watching for the haltings of others, and seeking an opportunity to expose real or imaginary error in a fellow traveler, turn our eyes within, and by the light of the gospel examine ourselves, and see whether we are altogether as pure in heart and as free from errors as we could desire. “Charity suffereth long and is kind;” therefore let us exercise this grace also, and be willing to do unto others as we would that they should do unto us. Instead of hunting up and magnifying the faults of erring brethren, we should endeavor to hide them from the eager gaze of a cold-hearted, uncharitable, and selfish world. Let us not exalt when our brother stumbleth, nor be glad at his calamities; rather let us be grieved for the afflictions of Joseph, and administer kind words and christian sympathy. Do not say with an air of satisfaction when thy brother is tempted, “Ah! it is his own fault; he is always getting out of the way.” These things ought not so to be. Christians ought to love one another and try to build one another up. Christians are the light of the world; but if the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! “Ye are the salt of the earth.” As it is with salt so with the Christian; if its saving properties are lost, it is thenceforth good for nothing. If the Christian does not exert a christian influence, and is not alive unto God for the salvation of souls, he is like salt that has lost its saltness, - good for nothing. The soldier of the cross is always expected to be at his post with his harness on, ready for the coming conflict, prepared for war. There should be no discord in the ranks, no bickerings in the church of Christ; but love, joy, peace long suffering, gentleness, goodness and truth. “For ye are members one of another.” Be ye therefore, brethren, “kind and tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” A loving brother will not suffer his tongue to slander his neighbor, nor will he credit, without good and sufficient evidence, evil reports that may be in circulation against his neighbor, whether he be a member of the church or not. A true disciple of the meek and lowly Jesus will not be harsh and overbearing in his conversation, but will use kind words and gentle means to reclaim the erring one. Let the grace of christian kindness be exercised, and all wrongs will be removed; minds that have been at war with each other, hearts that have long since ceased to beat in unison, will again be united, and the warm gush of love and affection will begin to flow. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Speak kind words, O my brethren, and use kind and gentle means if you would break up the deep fountain of the heart, and cause the tears of true penitence to flow. Is there a brother or a sister whose heart you have caused to bleed, and whose spirit you have wounded? Go to that brother or sister, and say to him or her in the language of a true penitent, “Brother, sister, be comforted. I am sorry for the wounds I have inflicted. Forgive me; I will do so no more.” Let the kindly accents prove that you are sincere, and how soon the bleeding will cease, and the wound begin to heal! Let the spirit of meekness and christian love have liberty to exercise itself, and all misunderstandings, jealousies, and hateful animosities are at once removed. “Let brotherly love continue.” Be not in haste to avenge the wrong done you. Remember it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.” Do not misrepresent thy brother by putting a wrong construction upon his language. Be as careful of his reputation as you would of your own. When thy brother is in trouble, when the clouds of adversity lower upon him, and losses, crosses, and disappointments are his lot, if it is in thy power to relieve him, do not call down the curse of God upon your own head by neglecting to discharge the obligations you are under to that afflicted brother. Let the love that worketh no ill to his neighbor prompt thee to action. Do not grudge to give a penny to the poor, nor turn a deaf ear to the voice of the stranger. Hast thou by cold neglect and scornful indifference saddened the heart of an humble disciple of Jesus? Hast thou by misrepresentation or otherwise awakened jealousy and suspicion in the minds of others toward him? Go and make reparation. Take with you kind words, and a cup of oil and wine. Is thy brother offended? Win him back to thee by kindness. Prove to him by words and acts that you do not mean to offend. It is not weakness to confess a fault, but it is an indication of a weak mind to cultivate a spirit of retaliation and revenge. Jealousy, hatred and revenge are not the fruits of the spirit of holiness, but are the poisoned arrows of the demon of darkness, sent up from the pit to wound the hearts of Christians. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Do not be a sower of discord among brethren. No rich blessing is promised to them that stir up strife. A quiet and peace-making spirit is a healing balm, and a star of light in the midst of the camp. Let us in all our business transactions be honest, upright, truthful benevolent. It is the duty of the Christian to elevate the standard of piety, and bear living testimony in the cause of truth and holiness. Fidelity in the cause of Christ should mark the Christian’s career through life, and by the grace of God it will be his comfort and solace in the hour of death. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 10.6
GOD UNCHANGEABLE
“I may be faint and weary (says the believer), but my God cannot. I may alter and fluctuate, as to my frames, but my Redeemer is unchangeably the same. I might utterly fail and come to nothing if left to myself; but I cannot be so left to myself, for the spirit of truth hath said, ‘I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.’ He will renew my strength, either by changing my weakness into strength, or by enduing me with his own power. He is wise to foresee and provide for all my dangers; he is rich to relieve and to succor me in all my wants; he is gracious to hear and to answer all my prayers; he is omnipotent to deliver and defend me from all mine enemies; he is faithful to perfect and perform all his own promises; he is eternal and immortal, to bless my poor depending soul with eternal blessedness and immortality. O what a great and glorious Saviour for such a mean and worthless sinner! O what a bountiful and graciously indulgent friend for such a base and insignificant rebel! What, what am I when I compare myself, and all I am of myself with what I can conceive of my God, and of what he hath kindly promised even to me! What a mystery am I to myself, to angels, to men! A worm of earth to be like a star of heaven; a corruptible sinner to be an incorruptible saint; a rebel to be made a child; an outlaw to become an heir; a deserver of hell to become an inheritor of heaven; a strong hold of the Devil to be garnished into a temple of God; an enemy and a beggar to be exalted to a throne, to be in friendship with God, one with Christ, a possessor of his Spirit, and of all this honor, happiness, and glory, forevermore; and all without any right to any one thing on my part but the miseries of the lowest hell! O what manner and what matter of love is this! Lord, take my heart, my soul, my all! I can render thee no more, and I would render thee no less. It is indeed a poor return. My body and soul are but ‘two mites,’ and yet (glory be to thee!) thou who didst esteem those of the poor widow, wilt not despise these of mine. Lord, they are thine own too; and I can only give thee what is thine! I melt with gratitude; and even this gratitude is thy gift. O take it, and accept both it and me in thyself, which is all my salvation and all my desire, for ever and ever!” - Ambrose Serle. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 11.1
DEMOCRACY OF THE BIBLE
CHRISTIANITY, avoiding anarchy on the one hand and despotism on the other, sets the race on a path of unlimited advancement. It pronounces all men equal. In express terms the christian revelation declares all nations of the earth to be of one blood; it pronounces all men equally the subjects of one King; it makes the value of the soul infinite, and shows no difference between the worth of that of a beggar and that of a prince. Look into the stable of Bethlehem, on that night when crowned sage and humble shepherd knelt by the cradle of that babe who was their common King; do you not see in that spectacle the bond of an essential equality uniting all ranks, and making the regal purple and the peasant’s russet, faint and temporary distinctions? Well might Coleridge say, that the fairest flower he ever saw climbing round a poor man’s window, was not so beautiful in his eyes as the Bible which he saw lying within. If all classes forsook the gospel, one might expect the poor, the hard-toiling, the despised to cling to it. Whatever christianity may have become in our churches and in our times, the great class of the workers can find in its aspects no excuse for abandoning itself, unless they can show that the churches have rewritten the Bible; unless they can allege that it no longer exhibits the divine Founder of christianity preaching to the poor, companying with publicans and sinners; unless they can show that it was the sanctioned usage of apostolic times to honor the rich in the christian assemblage; unless, in one word, they can deny that the gospel holds forth to every man the prospect of being a king and priest to God. - Bayne’s “Christian Life, Social and Individual.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 11.2
HOW TO TAKE LIFE
TAKE it just as though it was - as it is - an earnest, vital, important affair. Take it as though you were born to the task of performing a part in it - as though the world had waited for your coming. Take it as though it was a grand opportunity to do and to achieve, to carry forward great and good schemes; to help and cheer a suffering, weary, it may be, broken-hearted brother. The fact is, life is undervalued by a great majority of mankind. It is not made half so much of as should be the case. Where is the man or woman who accomplishes one tithe of what might be done? Who cannot look back upon opportunities lost, plans unachieved, thoughts crushed, aspirations unfulfilled, and all caused by the lack of the necessary and possible effort? If we knew better how to do and make the most of life, it would be far greater than it is. Now and then a man stands aside from the crowd, labors earnestly, steadfastly, confidently, and straightway becomes famous for wisdom, intellect, skill, greatness of some sort. The world wonders, admires, idolizes, and it only illustrates what others may do if they take hold of life with a purpose. The miracle, or the power that elevates the few, is to be sought in their industry, application, and perseverance, under the promptings of a brave, determined spirit. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 11.3
ONCE, AND ONLY ONCE
ONCE is enough, all-sufficient, better than a thousand. Parents, never allow your little ones to disobey or trample on the first moving muscle, the slightest wink, the least nod of parental requisition. Make no requests of your children, give no commands to them but such as are just, right, and reasonable, such as can be complied with and ought to be complied with; then let it be fully understood, the command given is to be obeyed, cheerfully, unhesitatingly, the very instant the word falls from your lips. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 11.4
Children, even little children, are eagle-eyed; they read the eye of the parent, his every look, the tone of his voice, the manner of his expression; they very soon learn whether or not the parent is in good earnest and intends to be obeyed. Beloved, do you request a child of yours to rise in the morning at a specific time, come to the altar of prayer, the breakfast-table, to do this or that? What now? - slacken the reins, repeat and re-repeat your requisitions; permit your little ones to obey or disobey at their own will and pleasure? Very soon you reap the fruits of this tardiness or parental slackness. What you sow you reap. Sow to the wind, you reap the whirlwind. It is utterly impossible to have clock-work in doors, or out, in the kitchen or in the parlor; quiet, order, peaceful harmony, good will, at table, around the family altar, where this repetition is allowed for a moment. Besides, this one deviation from family order is the letting out of water, the stepping-stone to more general and perpetual deviations, to more startling, headstrong, reckless out-breaks; till the family (instead of an Eden of paradise) becomes a little bedlam, a scene of disorder and confusion. - Golden Rule. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 11.5
CHRISTIAN LACONICS
LONG afflictions will much set off the glory of heaven. The longer the storm, the sweeter the calm; the longer the winter nights the sweeter the summer days. The new wine of Christ’s kingdom is most sweet to those who have long been drinking gall and vinegar. The higher the mountain, the gladder we shall be when we get to the top of it. The longer our journey is, the sweeter will be our end; and the longer our passage is, the more desirable will the haven be. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 11.6
A murmurer is an ungodly man; he is an ungodlike man; no man on earth more unlike to God than the murmurer; and therefore no wonder if, when Christ comes to execute judgment, he deals severely and terribly with him. Let him make what profession he will of godliness, yet if murmuring keeps the throne in his heart, Christ will deal with him at last as with ungodly sinners. A lazy Christian will always want four things - comfort, content, confidence, and assurance. Assurance and joy are choice donatives that Christ gives to laborious Christians only. The lazy Christian has his mouth full of complaints, when the active Christian has his heart full of comforts. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 11.7
God loves to smile most upon his people when the world frowns most. When the world puts its iron chains upon their legs, then God puts his golden chains about their necks; when the world puts a bitter cup into their hands, then God drops some of his honey, some of his goodness and sweetness into it. When the world is tearing their good names, then he gives them a name that is better than that of sons and daughters. - Spurgeon’s Smooth Stones. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 11.8
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
“Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.”
BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, MAY 28, 1861
WAS MOSES RAISED?
“AND behold there appeared unto them,” says Matthew, speaking of the transfiguration of Christ, “Moses and Elias talking with him.” It appears that what was witnessed by the disciples on the mount of transfiguration, was a real scene, and not an appearance only. The very word, transfiguration, is a word which is applied to a change actually accomplished, and not to that which is only apparently so. Mark in recording this wonderful scene, says, “And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.” Mark 9:4. Luke says, “And behold there talked with him two men which were Moses and Elias.” Luke 9:30. The word rendered appeared, in these instances, is applied by its definition to that which is really and literally seen, and is almost exclusively so used in the fifty-seven times of its occurrence in the New Testament. True, Christ told his disciples when coming down from the mount to tell the “vision” to no man; but the word here rendered vision is not limited to the sense in which that word is now used; for it also is applied to real and actual sights as well as to appearances, and is so applied in Acts 7:31, being in that instance rendered “sight.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.1
From this it appears that this was a literal and real transaction, and that consequently Moses and Elias were really and bodily present. It follows therefore that Moses had been raised, as the resurrection was the only avenue through which, in bodily form, he could have made his appearance on the mount. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.2
Add to this the intimation we have in Jude of some important transaction in regard to the body of Moses, and our evidence is complete. We there learn that Michael, the archangel, disputed with the Devil about the body of Moses. Let it be noticed that this dispute was about the body of Moses. Michael [Christ] and the Devil, each claimed, it appears, the right to do something with his body. Some have endeavored to reconcile this with the non-resurrection of Moses by saying that the Devil wished to make known to the children of Israel the place of Moses’ burial, in order to lead them into idolatry; and that the contention between him and Michael had reference to this; but such a conjecture (for it is nothing more), seems to be wholly without foundation; as in this case the contention would have been about the grave of Moses rather than about his body. But since this dispute did have reference solely to the body of Moses, let us inquire further what the Devil has to do, or what he does do, with the bodies of men. He is said to have the power of death; hence he is the one who reduces them to a state of death and holds them there; while on the other hand, Christ is the Life-giver whose prerogative it is to bring men out from under the power of death, clothing his own with immortality. The most natural conclusion therefore is that the dispute took place on this very question; that it had reference to the bringing back to life, to the resuscitation, of that dead body, which the Devil would naturally wish to keep, and claim the right to keep, in his own power. But Christ rebuked the adversary and rescued his victim from his grasp. This is the necessary inference from this passage, and as such it is entitled to its weight in this argument. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.3
But the great objection to the resurrection of Moses, which underlies this whole question, and meets us in the beginning, middle and end of its investigation, is this: If Moses was raised so many years before the resurrection of Christ, how can Christ be called the first-fruits of them that slept, as in 1 Corinthians 15:20, 28? how can he be said to be the first that should rise from the dead, as in Acts 26:23? or be called the first-begotten, and first-begotten of the dead, as in Hebrews 1:6, and Revelation 1:5? or the first-born among many brethren, the first-born of every creature, and the first-born from the dead, as in Romans 8:29, and Colossians 1:15, 18? This lay for a long time as an objection in our own mind; it may be so still in the minds of some. Before such we will lay the evidence that has satisfied us, believing it to be sufficient to do as much for them. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.4
First, then, we call attention to one fact: several individuals, of whom we have explicit account, were raised to life before the resurrection of Christ. We refer to the widow’s son, 1 Kings 17, the son of the Shunammite, 2 Kings 4, the son of the widow of Nain, Luke 7:14, the ruler’s daughter, Luke 8:40, 55, and the resurrection of Lazarus, John 11:43, 44. We have been ready to dispose of these passages, by making a distinction between a resurrection to immortality and one to mortality. Our argument has been that the cases of these individuals, they not being raised to immortality, would not affect the declaration that Christ should be the first to rise from the dead, meaning we have concluded, the first to rise to immortality. But is such a distinction as this admissible? Does the Bible make any such distinction, or give even an intimation of anything of the kind? Christ, in sending word to John of the results of his work, told the disciples to tell him, among other things, that the dead were raised up. And when the wicked are restored to life, it is called a resurrection, no less so than the restoration of the righteous. See John 5:29; Acts 24:15; Revelation 20:5. But the wicked are not raised to immortality; therefore in the matter of being raised from the dead, the Bible recognizes no distinction on account of the different conditions to which the different classes are raised. The cases above referred to, were therefore resurrections from the dead, just as really as though they had been raised to immortality; and the distinction we have heretofore made is thus shown to be wholly gratuitous, and is excluded from the controversy. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.5
Having shown this, the objection assumes somewhat of a new phase; for it now lies just as much against the cases of those of whose resurrection we have the most explicit account, as against that of Moses. The question we now have to meet is this: Can those passages in the Bible which declare that the dead have been raised, and those which speak of Christ as the first to be raised, be harmonized together? We think there is no difficulty here, as we shall now endeavor to show. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.6
It will be noticed that the objection rests wholly upon the supposition that the words first-fruits, first-begotten, and first-born, have exclusive reference to priority in time. Hence its huge proportions instantly collapse when we find that these words are not confined to this meaning. Christ is called the first-fruits in 1 Corinthians 15, solely in reference to his being the antitype of the wave-sheaf, and in contrast with the great harvest that will take place at his second coming. This word is used in different senses, as we may learn by referring to James 1:18, and Revelation 14:4, where it cannot have reference to antecedence in time. We may therefore pass this word, and proceed to a consideration of the others. These are protos, and prototokos, which we will notice in order. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.7
Protos, the word used in Acts 26:23, is thus defined by Robinson: “1. First, the first, of place, order, time. 2. Of rank, dignity, first, chief.” Greenfield’s second definition is, “first in dignity and importance, that is, chief, principal, most important.” A like definition, we are informed, is given by Liddell and Scott, and Schrevelius. It is twelve times used in the New Testament in this sense, as in Matthew 20:27; Mark 6:21, etc. This word, then, as applied to Christ in Acts 26:23, may simply mean that in his resurrection, he occupies the first and pre-eminent rank; his resurrection is the all-important one, since it is by virtue of this that all resurrections, whether before or since were, or were to be, accomplished. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.8
We come now to the second word, prototokos, rendered first-begotten and first-born. This word is defined by Robinson thus: “Properly the first-born of father or mother;” and as the first-born was entitled to certain prerogatives and privileges over the rest of the family, the word takes another meaning, namely, “first-born, the same as the first, the chief, one highly distinguished and pre-eminent; so of Christ, the beloved Son of God. Colossians 1:15.” Greenfield’s definition is similar. This word is used in this sense in the Septuagint. In Exodus 4:22, Israel is called the first-born; and in Jeremiah 31:9, Ephraim is called the first-born; but in point of time Esau was before Israel, and Manasseh before Ephraim. Their being called the first-born must therefore be owing to the rank, dignity, and station to which they had attained. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.9
We conclude then, and, we think, justly, that these words when applied to Christ, denote the pre-eminent rank and station which he holds in this great work, rather than the order of time in which his resurrection occurred, a point to which no importance whatever attaches. As all hinges upon Christ, and all is accomplished by his power, and by virtue of his resurrection, he stands out foremost and pre-eminent in all these displays whether they take place before or after his advent to this world. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.10
Grant, then, a resurrection to Moses: let him appear on the mount of transfiguration, as the evangelists say he did; let the dispute between Michael and the Devil be concerning the only point about which it could have been; since there is now no objection to all this, while there is, as we have seen, proof in its favor both incidental and direct. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.11
SECESSION
HISTORY, says Dr. Cumming is self-repeating. So are sins. The crimes and enormities of one age are being constantly acted over in others. Such is the case with secession, used in the bad sense in which we see it illustrated at the present time in this country. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.12
This movement which has caused so many Northern hearts to boil with indignation, which has so aroused the patriotism of the free States, and has called down upon the South the just execrations of all rightminded and enlightened citizens, is no new thing. History presents us with instances more extended and atrocious than this. This was the crime, so far as we have any account, that first introduced discord into the universe of God. The prime mover and the first seceder was Satan; and the first secession movement was that which resulted in his fall and expulsion from heaven. From that time onward, so far as he has had influence in the affairs of this world, this has been one of the acts in his programme. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.13
He effected the most notable secession movement which this world has ever seen, in the garden of Eden, when Adam, as the representative of the race and lord of the world, seceded, taking along with him this whole province into separation and revolt from the just government of God. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.14
Did you ever think of this, that this whole earth is a seceded province? And did you ever think further that the great majority of its inhabitants are secessionists? For since the Devil is the father and promoter of all these movements, it follows that all those who are in sympathy with him, who are under his influence, partake of his spirit, or are engaged in his service, are still seceders. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.15
Men are justly loud in their condemnation of the South in the course they have taken. Why? Because they have separated from, and are trying to injure, the best earthly government that has ever arisen. But if those who thus talk will look a little further they will see that they are only in a mild degree passing sentence upon themselves. You who are so fierce in your denunciations of Southern secession, pause a moment - you yourselves are seceders in a worse sense than those you so loudly condemn. If you are enabled to see the heinousness of secession on a small scale, just give your attention to that larger exhibition of it, which is found all over the globe. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.16
Sinner from what government have you seceded? The infinitely just and perfect government of God. And what provocation have you had for so doing? None at all; but more than this, you have done it right in the face of innumerable benefits gratuitously commenced and gratuitously continued. Let these considerations, while they do not lessen your condemnation of Southern madness, open your eyes to the position which you yourself are occupying. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.17
We abhor secession from that which is just and good, in any class, and in any form. We abhor sympathy with rebels against God and his government. We love that which has thrown off allegiance to the powers of darkness, and is in union and sympathy with the work and government of God. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 12.18
Our advice to every secessionist would be immediate surrender. Surrender you must, sooner or later, voluntarily or by compulsion. The time is drawing near when this work will be finished, and this movement be effectually put down; when the secession ordinance passed in Eden will be annulled; when this seceded earth will be brought back into allegiance to its rightful heir; and when all seceders, leader and subject, root and branch, will be blotted from the land of the living. And all this will be accomplished much more completely and effectually than this government is able to crush it out in the disaffected South. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.1
Our counsel would be not only surrender, but immediate surrender. You know not how soon you may be past the point where it is in your power to decide. Twenty days, said Lincoln in his proclamation, I give the rebels in which to lay down their arms and disperse. A less time than this may be allotted you. One thing you know: you have had fair warning that this rebellion shall be crushed, and the rebels dealt with according to the rigors of God’s law, which says that the soul that sinneth it shall die. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.2
MEETING AT KNOXVILLE, IOWA
THIS meeting was held under the most unfavorable circumstances. The house of worship is unfinished, having neither windows, door, nor stove. Rain commenced falling Sabbath evening, and continued night and day, except at short intervals, till the close of the meeting. Some of the time it was not only disagreeable, but quite uncomfortable. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.3
But these circumstances did not prevent our having a good meeting. There was perfect union and good feeling in the business meetings; the preaching of the word was listened to with earnest interest, and the straightest testimonies were generally received and acted upon. Six were received into the church (one, Bro. Whitney’s companion), and four were baptized, and one or more will yet be according to appointment. On Monday evening we met to attend to the ordinances, when opportunity was given to acknowledge the testimony given in public. As a proof of its acceptance, renunciations of “filthiness and superfluity” were made as follows: tea, 1; coffee 7; tobacco 7; and 2 resolved to quit the traffic in the last named. These, with other testimonies were truly heart-cheering, and as the ordinances were celebrated “joy unspeakable and full of glory” pervaded almost the entire assembly. I doubt not this meeting will be of lasting good to the church. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.4
I found considerable feeling and misapprehension existing in regard to Bro. Hull’s removal from the State. On explanation being made there was an expression taken, which resulted in a unanimous approval of the move. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.5
At the close of this meeting the officers of the church, elders and deacons were ordained, when the blessing of the Lord signified his approval of our action. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.6
Bro. Shortridge was with me here. He is trying to overcome and get into the work, and expresses much more confidence in this work, in its power and purity, than he ever felt before. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.7
On account of the protracted rain and consequent muddy roads, it will not be possible to pitch the tent this week. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.8
J. H. W.
Knoxville, Iowa, May 21, 1861.
BUSINESS PROCEEDINGS Of the Conference at Knoxville, Iowa
BUSINESS Conference was organized May 19, at 9 A. M., by calling Eld. J. H. Waggoner to the chair, and choosing D. W. Hull secretary. Prayer by the moderator. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.9
By request, Bro. Waggoner made some remarks on the object of the meeting. He said that he came here under peculiar circumstances; a stranger to all, in a strange country: that some discouragements had been presented to him relative to coming here, on the state of the cause, etc. Fears had been expressed that the brethren would not take hold vigorously and sustain the work. He felt the responsibility of trying, feeble and worn as he was, to occupy the field so efficiently occupied by Bro. Hull, and whose place he could not expect fully to fill. Besides these, he was to labor with one who had had but little experience in this work, and they wanted to counsel with the churches, that the efforts of all might be united - that the prayers and sympathies of the churches might go with them in their labors. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.10
Bro. Whitney, of the tent committee, reported that the churches had pledged for the support of the cause as follows: ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.11
| Knoxville, | $200,00 |
| Pleasantville & Sandyville, | 62,00 |
| Newbern, | 40,00 |
| Rosseau, | $ 66,00 |
| Fairfield, | 35,50 |
| Decatur City & Osceola, | 85,75 |
| Total, | $489,25 |
| Paid in of the above (cash), | 40,45 |
The amount pledged is not equal to the amount proposed to be raised, but the churches in Afton and Vernon have not been heard from. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.12
Bro. Shortridge said he trusted the work would be fully sustained. God has blessed us with a rich and beautiful country, where the means of subsistence are easily obtained. He plead earnestly at Battle Creek for a laborer to come with him to Southern Iowa. The brethren in Michigan have been and are ready to send the truth here, but he felt ashamed when he saw them there on their little farms, with often three or four stumps on every square rod, and about fifteen stones on the same, and on some farms the piles of stones were as thick as hay-cocks on the best meadows, places that he would not accept as a gift, and they offering to help support the cause in Iowa. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.13
A letter was read from Bro. Landis, of Chariton, requesting that the tent be first pitched there. After consultation, it was moved and unanimously carried, that the tent be first pitched in Oskaloosa. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.14
The tent-committee, by instruction, secured the services of Bro. Benj. Auton, as tent-master. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.15
Adjourned till afternoon. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.16
AFTERNOON SESSION
Prayer by Bro. Patterson. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.17
The moderator announced that the Knoxville church wished to select two brethren at this time, to act as elders of this church. Brn. Patterson and Hillis were chosen. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.18
Moved by Bro. Patterson that the church at Knoxville extend an invitation to Bro. Shortridge to move his family to this place. Carried. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.19
The Pleasantville brethren afterward wished to join in the invitation. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.20
Voted that the proceedings of this meeting be published in the Advent Review. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.21
Adjourned with singing and prayer.
J. H. WAGGONER, Chairman.
D. W. HULL, Secretary.
WISDOM
“THE wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits,” etc. James 3:17. Whose heart would not glow with admiration in the contemplation of this beautiful passage. Cold indeed must be that heart that would not desire wisdom like this. How lovely the character that shows by a practice of those virtues, that he possesses this wisdom. For one I confess with sorrow my lack, yet I do pray, and press my case to the Father of lights from whom cometh every good and perfect gift, to grant me unwavering faith to prevail with him. I feel while writing these lines that faith and hope spring up anew, and lay hold of the sure promise, It shall be given you. Often is my heart made sad when I call to mind how many I meet daily, whom I respect, perishing for the lack of the above wisdom, rushing on to ruin and to death. How especially true are the following solemn lines at this time: ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.22
“Broad is the road that leads to death,
And thousands walk together there,
But wisdom shows a narrow path,
With here and there a traveler.”
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.23
Be it mine to share in the trials, the burdens and blessings of God’s chosen and peculiar people; and though the way heavenly wisdom points out is narrowing up, the sure word of prophecy assures us that we are passing the last waymark. Mount Zion and the city of our God are just before us; and though this dark world is growing darker, thank God, the heavenly way shines more and more unto the perfect day. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.24
We cannot miss our way if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Hebrews 3:6. Amid the “Lo heres” and “Lo theres,” and the confusion that surrounds us, men’s hearts failing them for fear, when human wisdom utterly fails to know what is coming, how calmly and confidently can he whose mind is stored, and heart warmed, with the wisdom that makes wise unto salvation, by an eye of faith look through and beyond this vast preparation for war and clash of carnal weapons. He knows that the King of kings is coming, that his redemption draweth nigh. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.25
May you and I, dear reader, be clad with the armor of light which is described in Ephesians 6:14-17, that we may be able to stand in this evil day. And while others are engaged in deadly conflict with each other for a fading inheritance, let us rally under the banner of our God which is displayed because of the truth [Psalm 60:4], realizing that though we walk in the flesh we do not war after the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:3, 4. With these divine precepts imprinted on my heart, and Christ dwelling there by faith, I am resolved to march on with him who has gone forth conquering and to conquer [Revelation 6:2], and the unfading inheritance and crown of glory will be ours. In conclusion, may the calm trust and confidence in God let what will come, which is expressed in the following beautiful lines, be obtained and retained by us all, is my prayer: ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.26
“My lifted eye without a tear,
The gathering storm shall see;
My steadfast heart shall know no fear,
That heart will rest on Thee.”
GEO. WRIGHT.
Lapeer, Mich.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.27
TOO POOR TO TAKE THE REVIEW
THERE are but few with whom I can converse and receive kind admonition (of those of like precious faith) except through the Review. And I thank the Lord for such a medium of correspondence. It seems to me that every believer in present truth should have it. Yet there are many that neglect to take it, and why? “O, I am too poor,” says one, “I cannot afford it.” Now, dear brother, is this really the case? Do you not know the terms of the Review? only two dollars a year. If you have good health you can earn enough in two or three days to pay for it. If indeed poor you can have it I think for half price. If very poor you can have it free. Can you not afford it on any of these terms? Poor indeed that brother that is deprived of the kind letters brought weekly to hand by the Review. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.28
Sometimes I think we plead poverty, when if we would carefully examine ourselves, we should find it was the love of the world creeping in which causes us to look on the dark side, and have more interest in what we shall eat or drink, and wear, than for the spiritual welfare of our families and the church. The true lovers of present truth will have an interest to know how the cause prospers in various parts of the land that they may rejoice with those that rejoice and weep with those that weep. And how shall we have this knowledge without the Review? ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.29
We are a scattered people. The Lord is calling out one here and another there from the rubbish and darkness of the world, and the traditions and corruption of a fallen and lifeless church, into the glorious liberty of the true gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and fitting up a people for translation at the appearing of Jesus. And if we are the Lord’s true Israel, then we are one body, whose head is Christ. And if we are one body, then we have one common interest, one common cause, and one mind and spirit. If I love the Lord, I love my brethren. If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin. We know that we have passed from death unto life if we love the brethren. “He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.30
The apostle Paul says, “Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as we see the day approaching.” “But exhorting one another.” How can this be done by the whole church (while scattered some five, some ten, twenty, thirty, and fifty miles from each other) except through the paper? Through this we can exhort one another to love and good works. Every brother and sister should have the Review, and every one should have a word of comfort to the flock of Christ through that medium, and thus fulfill the injunction, “exhort one another.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 13.31
Too poor to take the Review? Ah! poor indeed is that brother that cannot take it. But thank the Lord there are none so poor that they cannot have it. The Lord will take care of his own poor. The Psalmist has said, “Once I was young, but now I am old, yet have I never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” The Lord, through the generosity of his children has provided that all may have the Review. Let us support our paper and the press by our means and our prayers that it be not burdened with pecuniary trials, but may be free to send forth line upon line, and precept upon precept, that the great Head of the church may raise up a multitude who shall rejoice in the glorious doctrines of our holy religion. Let it go forth opening the eyes of the blind, rescuing the truth of God from the rubbish of human tradition, and publishing the glorious theme of salvation and eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, raising the standard of moral virtue by proclaiming God’s holy law, and teaching men to observe the commandments of God rather than the traditions of men. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.1
Dear brethren, it is no time for sleep or slumber. The Lord draweth near. Signs portend that the day of the Lord is at hand. The nations are getting angry and are perplexed; men’s hearts failing them for fear and for looking for those things which are coming on the earth. Satan well knows that his time is short, so he is stirring up the nations of the earth to strife and contention. These are fearful times, but only the beginning of the end. The prophet Joel says, “The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.2
It does seem to me that the earth is getting ripe for destruction, and that soon the angel will cry with a loud voice to him that hath the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the great question with us should be, Are we getting ready for the coming storm. In our country from one end to the other, the cry is, To arms! to arms! and we are in the midst of rebellion and civil war. The Lord will have a controversy with this nation. Her sins have come up before the Lord. Vengeance is mine, and I will repay saith the Lord. Let us be faithful, and we shall soon have a victory such as they do not get who triumph over mortal foes. May the Lord make us perfect in every good work, to do his will working in us that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.3
A. LANPHEAR.
Nile, Allegany Co., N. Y.
Bro. J. Iden writes from Toboso, Ohio: “I would just say to the dear brethren and sisters that I still rejoice in the truth, and am still striving to keep pace with the third and last message. I desire to be in union and sympathy with God’s people. I think the cause is one everywhere, and that all should strive to come into the unity of the faith. I would say that the name Seventh-day Adventist I regard as a very appropriate name, and one that corresponds with our profession.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.4
Sister Mary Shell writes from Pottersburgh, Mich.: “Myself and companion are still striving to obey the commandments of God. We desire so to live as to have an inheritance in his kingdom, which we hope is not far distant. We still esteem the Review a welcome messenger. The prayer of my heart is that the Lord would open a way for some of the preachers to come this way. There are four here striving to keep the Sabbath. We have never heard an Advent lecture. I think there are many here who would receive the truth.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.5
NIGHT SHOWETH KNOWLEDGE
WHEN I survey the bright
Celestial sphere,
So rich with jewels hung, that night
Doth like an Ethiop bride appear.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.6
My soul her wings doth speed,
And heavenward flies,
The Almighty mysteries to read
In the large volumes of the skies.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.7
For the bright firmament
Shoots forth no flame
So silent, but is eloquent
In speaking the Creator’s name.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.8
No unregarded star
Contracts its light
Into so small a character,
Removed far from our human sight.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.9
But if we steadfast look
We shall discern
In it, as in some holy book,
How man may heavenly knowledge learn.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.10
It tells the conqueror,
That far-stretched power,
Which his proud dangers traffic for,
Is but the triumph of an hour.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.11
Thus those celestial fires,
Though seeming mute,
The fallacy of our desires
And all the pride of life confute.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.12
For they have watched since first
The world had birth,
And found sin in itself accurst,
And nothing permanent on earth.
Wm. Habingdon - 1605.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.13
EVERYTHING GOOD
MEN will have it that we are living in the golden age, and so try to make out that everything that exists was intended for some good purpose. They say that nothing was made in vain, and so contend that every plant, however noxious or poisonous it may be, was made for some use. Tell a tobacco-eater that tobacco was never made to be eaten, and he will instantly inquire, Well, what was it made for? Just as though everything that grows is to be used as food, drink or medicine. Everything is right, say they, and so every beast or insect, however troublesome, is looked upon as just what the Lord would have them. One man carried this so far that he would never kill a mosquito, but carefully brush it off. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.14
The reader may ask, Did not the Lord make all things, and is not everything just as he would have it? To which I answer, No. The Lord never made an evil angel or a wicked man; everything that comes from his hand is good and pure, and if evil beings exist at the present time, it cannot be charged to him. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.15
When the Lord had finished his six days’ work, he not only pronounced everything good, but very good. The light was good, the firmament, the dry land and the seas were good, the trees and plants were good, nothing poisonous about them; beasts and insects were good, no poisonous reptile, no troublesome insect, nothing to cause death or even pain; man was good, holy and innocent. But the scene has changed. Man has become vile and wicked. “There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Some are good, compared with others, but none are good in the sense that Adam was. The animal creation fell with man. Their evil passions prevail, and they bite and devour each other. The earth has fallen, too, and produces thorns, thistles, nettles, poisonous briers and plants. This is the result of sin. These things did not exist at the first. The Lord did not make things in their present state. They exist in their present condition through the instrumentality of man. Everything has been perverted. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.16
But why did not the Lord make man in such a state that he could not fall? It would be impossible to do so, and still leave him a free agent. Happiness depends upon free agency, and it is impossible to be fully happy without the exercise of this quality or property of mind. One thing is certain, as the Lord is infinitely wise and good, we know that he left things in the best possible condition. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.17
But does he pronounce things in their present condition good? By no means. Then why do men try to make out everything good and just as it should be? It is owing in a great measure to their depravity and perverted judgment. I heard a man say once that this world was good enough for him. But methinks the enemy of man has something to do with this. He wants to make him think that this world is good, beautiful and attractive, so that he may not be anxious to obtain a better. When the world was good and beautiful, he tried to make him think that it was not, that there was something better for him, and thus he has always worked against the interests of the race. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.18
Beware of the doctrines of devils. This world is an evil world, men are evil and wicked; animals and insects are poisonous and hurtful; thorns, thistles and other plants are troublesome and useless to promote happiness, being a part of the curse; in short, our world is all in ruins, and is not to be desired. But shall we murmur or complain? By no means. Things are the best adapted to the present condition of man that they possibly could be. If man still lived in the garden of Eden, he would not want a better world, and therefore would make no exertions to arrive at a holy state, and flee from every sin. Perfect happiness depends upon perfect holiness; so man would never in that case strive for holiness. After man had sinned and ruined the world, the Lord in mercy deprived him of certain comforts that he might consider from whence he had fallen, and make efforts to regain his primitive state. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.19
Whenever he receives a wound, he remembers that once man could not be wounded. Whenever he sees a ravenous beast, he thinks of the time when every beast was tame and gentle. When he sees thistles and thorns, he thinks of the time when there were none. When conscience upbraids him for sin, he remembers the time when man was innocent. And he sighs for that tranquil state. And when he is told how to regain that first dominion, he eagerly starts in the way, and although troubles assail, encouraged by many promises of success, he presses forward. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.20
Yes, make the best of this world, but not esteem it better than it is. Endure patiently its hardships and trials, never complain of evils which cannot be remedied. Above all, keep faith’s eye steadily fixed on that bright and beautiful world to which you are traveling. Let a person keep his eye fixed steadily upon the light of the sun, and his soul will be filled with its glory and splendor. But let him retire into a cave where its light cannot enter, and candles and torches even will look bright. So when persons get their eyes fixed on this world, they soon lose sight of that beautiful world which knows no sorrow nor night. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Giving all diligence let us add to our faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity; that an entrance may be ministered unto us abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.21
DANIEL HILDRETH.
Freeport, Ills.
LETTERS
“Then they that feared the Lord, spake often one to another.”
From Sister Camp
BRO. SMITH: I desire to say a few words to the lonely and afflicted ones, as I feel that I know in some measure how to sympathize with them, being myself lonely and afflicted. I often sigh for the society of those of like faith; but being deprived, perhaps I prize more highly, and seek more earnestly, the favor of Him whose favor is life, and whose loving-kindness is better than life, and who is a present help in every time of need. I adore the infinite goodness and mercy of our God in stooping so low as to be a Father to such as we; but so it is, ye lonely and afflicted ones, for whom I often weep in secret places. May the Lord help us fully to trust in him, casting all our care and burden on him, knowing that he careth for us and will sustain us. He knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are but dust. And as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. May we so abide in him and have his word abide in us, that we may ask what we will and it shall be done unto us. I. G. CAMP. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 14.22
From Bro. Olds
BRO. SMITH: With feelings of gratitude to my heavenly Father for his mercy and goodness toward me in permitting me to see his saving truth, and the relation we sustain one toward another, I feel it a privilege to say a few words. It is now some over one year since the message was first sounded in this place by Bro. Sanborn. The result was that some forty were caused to see that they were sinners, and trampling on God’s commandments. Since that time they have been trying to keep all of them and the faith of Jesus, and to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.1
The longer I live and have to do with the things of the world, the more I see that it is the time of patience. I find that a belief in the truth is not all that is necessary, but we need to be sanctified by it as Jesus says, “You are not of the world; for I have chosen you out of the world; therefore the world hateth you.” John 15:19. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.2
But the question might be asked, What is meant by the words “out of the world?” Surely the Saviour did not mean for us to understand that we must literally go out of it. No, he did not; but they are not of the world even as he was not of the world. John 17:16. The Saviour prayed not that God would take them out of the world, but that he would keep them from the evil. John 17:15. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.3
O brethren, may our Lord’s word’s be fulfilled in us. May we put forth all our efforts that they may, in this time of trouble, when wicked men and seducers are so prevalent in our land. Yes, we must overcome the world if we would see Jesus in peace. How many things we have to overcome! How many habits we have which are not pleasing in the sight of God. Then shall we still persist in the way that we know is not to the glory of God? How can we and still claim his blessing? O those idle words that we have been in the habit of indulging in, those more than useless ones which so often drive the Holy Spirit from our hearts! What! not one idle word? No, not one; for every idle word we shall be brought to an account. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.4
I had been in the habit of using tobacco for fifteen years, but I saw that it was a filthy habit, and by the help of the Lord I have laid it away, and purpose never more to defile myself with it. God will not bless his people if they do not try to help themselves, and with Bro. Sanborn in Review No. 26, Vol. 17, I can say, I do not believe that man or woman can use the filthy weed tobacco to the glory of God. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.5
The brethren were very much pleased when they saw the notice in the paper for Bro. and Sr. White to visit us, but were disappointed in not seeing them. The brethren and sisters were much revived by Bro. Shortridge’s preaching, and one more acknowledged all of God’s commandments, and took a stand with the remnant people to go with them to mount Zion. May God help Bro. S. to be successful in his labors, as we have no doubt he will. We feel thankful to God for sending him this way. May the Lord help us all to rise with the message, that we may be accounted worthy to escape all those things that are coming on the earth. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.6
From your brother striving to overcome. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.7
C. W. OLDS.
Little Prairie, Wis.
From Bro. Gerould
BRO. SMITH: I feel to thank the Lord for what he has done for his people in Caledonia since the labors of Brn. Bates, Jones, and Kenyon from Monterey. We are earnestly striving to raise higher the standard of piety. There are twenty-three who have come out from the confusion and have planted themselves upon the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus. O how sweet it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. We have of late felt some of the spirit and power of the third angel in our meetings. May the Lord help us to keep pace with the message, and go on from one degree of grace to another until we shall be perfect overcomers, and stand with this dear people on mount Zion. One has started anew to keep the Sabbath since the church have begun to raise the standard. May the Lord help all the dear honest children to overcome and stand shoulder to shoulder with those upon whom the Lord has laid the burden of this work. My heart is drawn out in sympathy with such. I can faintly realize the discouraging influence that they have to bear up under. May the Lord help is my prayer. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.8
Yours in love of the truth. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.9
LYMAN GEROULD.
Caledonia, Mich.
From Bro. Blanchard
BRO. SMITH: We are striving to be overcomers through the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. We have meetings every Sabbath in the Christian church in Princeville. There is a good interest manifested with the Sabbath-keepers to keep up the meetings, but still we labor under embarrassing circumstances. We are not allowed to invite Advent preachers to preach in the church; and, in fact, the church is not free for any of us, unless we signify a determination to remain on what they call the Christian platform. 1 But I say, let us worship God in the open air, or anywhere, where we can have freedom of conscience. The Saviour suffered without the gate. Let us go forth, therefore, unto him without the camp bearing his reproach; for here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. Hebrews 13:13, 14. Blessed be the Lord! if we suffer with him we shall also be glorified together. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.10
Dear brethren and sisters, we will not murmur if we are driven from churches, school-houses, and even our own homes, when we know our Redeemer has suffered and died, even the death of the cross, that we might have eternal life through faith and obedience. Some seem to think that there never will be a church united on the great truths of God’s word. Do such think the prayer of our Saviour in vain? “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee; holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are one.” John 17:11. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them which shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” Verses 20, 21. Shall we act in harmony with this prayer? ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.11
Again, “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul.” Acts 4:32. Here is one more testimony. “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same things, and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment.” 1 Corinthians 1:10. Here is testimony to show conclusively that the true church should be united. We should look well to this subject. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.12
What has brought about the spiritual downfall of the Protestant world? Is it not for the want of union on the great truths of God’s word? Most certainly. Confusion is one of the characteristics of Babylon. There is but one way by which we may become united and perfectly joined together on the great truths of God’s word, and that is to put the old man entirely away with his deeds, and sink into the will of God, and be led by his Spirit, which will not lead us to all the points of the compass, but will lead us and cement us together in one. We should be careful how we reject the manifestations of the Spirit, if it comes in harmony with the word. Rather should we lift up our voices with the apostles [Acts 4:24-31], that God would restore to us again the gifts of the church, which we by stubborn unbelief have lost. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.13
But says one, these gifts were for the setting up of the gospel, and consequently we have no need of them. Well, if you can prove to me that you have no need of eyes, arms or hands, and also that the body is perfect without these members, then I will admit that we have no need of the gifts of the church. 1 Corinthians 13. The gifts are not confined to the setting up of the gospel; for Paul to the Ephesians [chap 4:12], in speaking of the gifts, says they are for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” Let us believe that God is as ready to give us his Spirit as he was in the days of the apostles. The watchmen of God’s remnant church will lift up their voice, and see eye to eye. They are to have the testimony of Jesus Christ [Revelation 12:17], which is the Spirit of prophecy. Chap 19:10. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.14
There are some thirty Sabbath-keepers in this county. I think there might be a church of twenty members organized here in Princeville. I hope to be found in the remnant church in the day when the nations are angry, and the wrath of God is come. We shall then be safely sheltered under the shadow of his wings, while the wicked nations will be dashed in pieces. O sinner, flee to him who died for you, for protection in that day. No longer transgress the law of God. No longer trample the holy Sabbath under foot, but walk with the remnant to mount Zion. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.15
HENRY C. BLANCHARD.
Princeville, Peoria Co., Ills.
P. S. We would be glad to have any of the brethren call on us. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.16
OBITUARY
DIED in Monterey, April 22, Eliza Florilla, daughter of Orin and Francis McOmber, aged 4 years and 8 months. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.17
“Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O Death!
Youth and the opening rose
May look like things too glorious for decay,
And smile at thee - but thou art not of those
That wait the ripen’d bloom to seize their pray.”
P. M. BATES.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.18
FELL asleep in Jesus, at her parents’ residence, in Marlow, N. H., Apr. 18, 1861, Lydia E., wife of Cyrus K. Farnsworth, aged 27 years, 7 months, and 18 days. Sister F. was taken sick about two years ago, and the most of the time was a great sufferer under a complication of diseases. At the age of 17 she embraced the present truth, the third angel’s message, and was a steady and firm believer in the solemn truths connected with the last message to dying man, and a faithful observer of God’s holy Sabbath, inseparably connected with that holy law given on Mt. Sinai by the great Lawgiver for the rule of man’s life. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.19
She was an example of patient suffering and of piety. The sweet, blessed hope of the glorious, personal appearing of her blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, cheered her heart, and was like an anchor to her soul, sure and steadfast. And while she saw through the prophetic word the solemn scenes that are soon to transpire on the earth, she could adopt, and with her pencil marked, the following language of the poet: ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.20
“The living saints have got to meet And brave the dragon’s utmost ire - The grave will be a blest retreat While earth is whelmed in troubles dire. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.21
“Thy righteous will be done, O God!
To meet the foe and overcome;
Or lay me down beneath the sod,
Sleep a short sleep and then go home.”
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.22
Definitely and especially applicable here are the words that John was commanded to write, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.23
Her faith was unwavering that she should rest but a little while in the grave before she should hear the voice of the Archangel and the trump of God, and with all them that sleep in Jesus she should come forth in immortal bloom. Yes, that once suffering and emaciated form will soon put on immortality, and shout victory over the grave, to enjoy the blessing promised in Revelation 22:14. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.24
“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.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.25
Sr. F. has left a kind companion and tender and affectionate parents to mourn her loss. We deeply feel for Bro. F. when we think that this is the second time he has followed a dear companion to the grave, within three years. But he mourns not as those that have no hope. How exceedingly precious are these promises to his afflicted heart, that shed such rays of divine light around the morning of the resurrection. O glorious morn! we hail thy dawn that sets the prisoners free. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.26
“Unconscious now in peaceful sleep,
From all her cares at rest,
While friends around are called to weep,
She is divinely blest.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.27
“Away from Satan’s tempting snare,
Her faith’s no longer tried;
In Jesus she is sleeping there;
For in bright hope she died.”
JOSHUA PHILBRICK.
Washington, N. H., May 17, 1861.
ARSH May 28, 1861, page 15.28
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, MAY 23, 1861
MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION
THE Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association met according to appointment, May 23, 1861, and proceeded to the adoption of By-laws, and the election of Officers. The doings of this meeting, together with the State law, the act of incorporation, and the By-laws of the Association, will soon be embodied in pamphlet form for the benefit of those who may take shares in the society. The following officers were elected: President, James White. Vice-president, G. W. Amadon. Secretary, E. S. Walker. Treasurer, U. Smith. Auditor, J. N. Loughborough. Editor of REVIEW & HERALD, James White. Editor of YOUTH’S INSTRUCTOR, G. W. Amadon. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.1
NO PAPER NEXT WEEK
PREPARATORY to the operations of the Association, there will be a full inventory taken of all the stock, property and accounts connected with this Office, in consequence of which the paper will be omitted next week. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.2
THE FAITH ON THE EARTH
“WHEN the Son of man cometh,” said the Saviour, “shall he find faith on the earth?” This language contains the strongest implication that of true and genuine faith there would scarcely be any to be found, at the time of his coming. From present appearances, however, there will be enough of every other kind. The present age is remarkable for faiths of this description. There is faith in that which has no foundation, faith in fancies, faith in tradition, faith in lies, faith in everything except the truth. That such a time as is understood by a temporal millennium, should ever occur on this earth, in the present state of things, viewed in the light of all experience thus far, would seem to be the greatest stretch of which any man’s faith was capable; but to believe that the present state of perplexity and commotion, with its prospective wars, bloodshed, and ruin, is the introduction to the aforesaid millennium of peace and glory would seem to be greater still. Such, nevertheless, seems to be the faith that is taking or has already taken root in the hearts of men. With this faith, they are still compelled to acknowledge that appearances are all against them; that the future to all human appearance is most dark and gloomy. As for the word of God, that somehow seems not to be taken into account by them. These thoughts are suggested by the following sentiments of one who is held to be one of the lights and leaders of the religious world. The Congregational Union has lately held its anniversary in New York. Among the speakers was the “Rev. Robert Hatfield, of the M. E. church,” who among other things uttered the following:- ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.3
“I am glad to be here to-night, and to have listened to the cheerful and encouraging words of those gentlemen who have spoken. I hold fast to my faith in the truth that God rules and reigns, and that however the storm may career, however the sea may roar or the mountains shake, that the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, and out of these terrible calamities there shall come the peaceable fruits of righteousness. These things are preparing the way for the time when the grand universal shout shall go up, filling all heaven, that the tabernacles of God are with men. It would comfort me some if to this faith I could add a little clearness of vision with regard to the future, but I am compelled to admit to you it seems to me just now to be most dark and saddening.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.4
Such utterances as these are becoming common; and in view of them may we not set down this age as the most remarkable one for faith that ever existed. When the Son of man cometh shall he find faith on the earth? Yes: the most astonishing, blindfold, and deceptive faith that it is possible for the great deceiver to devise and instill into the darkened hearts of men. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.5
Sister H. Holford writes from Napoleon, Mich.: “I am trying to keep the commandments, and can say that they are not grievous. Many years it has been my lot to suffer afflictions deep and sore; but amidst it all the Lord has been my dearest friend. And now we are nearing home. Yes, heaven, delightful heaven! glorious home above! While I was reading to-day the sweet communications in Review No. 25, and saw how some could express their gratitude to God for sending his messengers their way that they might hear the truth, with flowing tears I exclaimed, Lord, when will it be my turn to enjoy this privilege? I have invitations on every hand to go with the churches again, and throw away these foolish notions, as they call them; but no, never can I go back to the fallen churches. If any of the messengers could come this way we would be glad to receive them. I have a son who wishes to be baptized. But if I am never to see a Sabbath-keeper again in this life, I will try to live so that I can enter through the gates into the city.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.6
Bro. A. Belden writes from Moore’s Forks, N. Y., “The paper with the circular came to hand the 14th. It cheers my heart to see a willingness expressed to do something to advance the blessed cause of truth, and raise a fund sufficient to carry on in a proper manner the publishing department. Although poor in health and stinted in means, I wish to do what I can, and with the help of the Lord I will take one share.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.7
Bro. J. Fishell jr., writes from Grand Ledge, Mich.: “I would say to the brethren and sisters that there are a few of us here in Delta, Eaton Co., Mich., who are trying to keep all the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The most of us adopt the plan of systematic benevolence, and have on hand a little money that we would like to give to some preacher if one could come and preach to us and to the people. We think some good might be done here. Our prayer is, Lord, send by whom thou wilt. We have long prayed for a messenger to come here. Some of us have never heard the third message, and one is waiting to be buried with Christ by baptism. Perhaps others will be ready to go forward when they hear on the subject. We have meetings every Sabbath. The Lord verifies his promise. Praise his holy name! he is worthy of all our praise.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.8
Bro. J. B. Merritt writes from Cheney’s Grove, Ills.: “The circular for pledges to the Publishing Association has just come to hand, being detained one week by irregular mail. I hasten to return it with my pledge for one share, as I desire to have a part in this matter. Living as I now am, remote from those of like faith, and feeling at times lonely indeed, I can truly thank the Lord for the intelligence that I receive weekly from the dear saints through the Review. I was sorely grieved when I first read of the secession movement, or hasty conclusions, of some of my old associates in Ohio; yet I am glad to learn that they are disposed to retrace their steps in this thing, and have their errors corrected. O, that this spirit may be in us all, until we get on higher and holier ground.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.9
Sister S. Bliven writes from North Stonington, Ct.: “I am a lover of the precious truth the Review advocates. I should not know how to do without it. It is all the preaching I have. I feel very lonely. There is not one here that believes as I do. I have taken a great deal of pains to lend my papers and books, hoping and praying that they may prove a blessing to those that read, as they have to me. I love the Lord, I love his cause, his people and his holy word.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.10
Sister P. D. Lawrence writes from Falmouth, Mass.: “I am still holding on to the blessed word of the Lord, which shines more and more brilliant as the darkness is more dense. I feel that a study of it is more and more necessary as we encounter the trials which we meet, as we are drawing near port. When popular preachers tell me that God can consistently send the wicked to hell every day, because he has a judgment every day, I can tell them, according to God’s word that he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world; and when they tell me that the wicked are always dying and never dead, I can read in God’s word that they shall die; for God only hath immortality. We can see what seem to be indications of the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah [chap. 25], when the slain will lie from one end to the other end of the earth, and not be lamented, nor gathered, nor buried, when the shepherds will howl, and the principal of the flock cry. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.11
“I am alone and lonely, but thank God that am not confined with unbelievers. I can say that I love my Jesus, and all those saints who love him also. I rejoice that I shall soon see the faces of those who sleep, and those who are all alone like myself. I know how to pity them. But I am unworthy. I have no claim on God; but in Jesus there is salvation. Precious Saviour! I am hoping to be more like him every day, but often get almost discouraged, and pray God to arouse me, and quicken and fit me for the coming kingdom.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.12
Bro. T. Draper writes from McGregor, Iowa: “I cannot do without the Review, for I have a hungry love for the cause it advocates - the cause of truth, the cause of life. Praise the Lord! How often is my spirit refreshed when reading the letters from beloved brethren and sisters; and my last Review giving account of the conference meeting, seemed to bring the spirit of the meeting with it, to enliven the minds of those who are in union with the work.” ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.13
APPOINTMENTS
PROVIDENCE permitting I will meet with the church in Parkville, Sabbath and first day, June the 8th and 9th, and by the request of the friends of our dear sister Bovee, lately deceased, of that place, there will be a funeral discourse on first day at the place and hour the friends may appoint. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.14
JOHN BYINGTON.
Monthly Meeting
The next monthly meeting for the Seventh-day Adventists of Northern Vt. and Canada, will be held at North Sutton, C. E., June 8 and 9. Our brethren in this section are very anxious to see Bro. Stephen Pierce. Can he not meet with us in this meeting? A. S. HUTCHINS. D. T. BOURDEAU. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.15
Business Department
Business Notes
Saml. Haskell: Your dollar was received, and is receipted in No. 20, last volume, a copy of which we would send you if we had a spare copy in the Office. Your present remittance, as you will see, pays you to No. 8, Vol. xix. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.16
J. Iden: You send a dollar for J. C. Brown’s paper, but where does his paper go? ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.17
Mary M. Brown: We will change your paper when you tell us to what place it has heretofore been sent, and in what State that Richmond Corner is, to which you wish it sent. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.18
D. N. Fay: We are not sending any papers to Fitchburg, Dane Co., Wis., neither to Plain, Erie Co., Pa. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.19
G. G. Dunham: Where is your paper sent? ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.20
Receipts FOR REVIEW AND HERALD
Annexed to each receipt in the following list, is the Volume and Number of the ‘Review and Herald’ to which the money receipted pays. If money for the paper is not in due time acknowledged, immediate notice of the omission should be given. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.21
D. J. Burroughs 1,00,xix,1. J. Young 1,00,xix,1. J. A. Wilbur 1,00,xviii,20. N. Hodges 1,00,xviii,1. J. Wilbur 2,00,xix,18. H. C. Whitney (for S. Zin) 1,00,xx,1. H. Lyon 1,00,xix,1. S. Eastman 1,00,xviii,1. Jno. Stowell 2,00,xx,1. C. K. Farnsworth 1,00,xix,1. C. R. Austin 1,00,xix,1. C. R. Austin (for M. Olmstead) 1,00,xx,9. S. Chase 1,00,xix,1. S. Haskell 1,00,xix,8. J. Parmalee 1,00,xix,1. T. W. Potter 1,00,xix,1. N. H. Satterlee 1,00,xix,1. N. H. Satterlee (50c each for C. G. Satterlee, xix,1, and H. H. Satterlee xviii,1) 1,00. M. Bounds 1,00,xix,1. J. Iden 2,00,xv,11. H. M. Caslar 1,00,xix,10. Mrs. S. Eastman 2,00,xx,1. J. C. Parker 1,00,xvii,1. Jos. Palmiter 1,00,xx,1. A. M. Preston 1,00,xix,1. Mrs. C. Manley 2,00,xix,1. J. Jones 1,00,xix,1. D. Lyon 1,00,xviii,10. M. H. Bates 2,00,xviii,10. Mrs. M. M. Nelson 2,00,xviii,6. Mrs. L. M. Gates 1,00,xxi,1. Jno. Newton 1,00,xix,6. Wm. Inglis 1,00,xviii,10. D. F. Moore 1,00,xix,1. A. Rankin 1,00,xviii,7. John Kemp 1,00,xv,1. A. B. Pearsall 1,00,xix,1. J. H. Ginley 1,00,xix,1. D. W. Milk 0,50,xix,1. Julia A. Dayton 0,50,xix,1. J. H. Parks 1,00,xix,1. O. B. Sevey 0,50,xviii,6. Jas. Stiles 5,00,xx,14. D. Sevey 1,00,xviii,1. C. Fox 1,00,xx,1. J. Fishell jr. 2,00,xix,1. S. Peckham 1,00,xix,1. S. W. Bean 0,50,xviii,1. S. W. Flanders 1,00,xix,1. Jos. Thomas 1,00,xix,1. G. N. Collins 1,00,xix,1. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.22
FOR MISSIONARY PURPOSES. C. C. Bodley $2. ARSH May 28, 1861, page 16.23