Advent Review, and Sabbath Herald, vol. 18
June 18, 1861
RH VOL. XVIII. - BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, - NO. 4
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, JUNE 18, 1861. - NO. 4.
The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald
is published WEEKLY, BY
The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association
TERMS.-Two Dollars a year, in advance. One Dollar to the poor and to those who subscribe one year on trial. Free to those unable to pay half price. Address ELDER JAMES WHITE, Battle Creek, Michigan. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.1
“LOVEST THOU ME?”
LOVEST thou me? Why doth the world allure
And tempt thee with her false and fickle ways;
Why dost thou cling to perils that endure,
And shadow darkly all thine earthly days?
Why hug ambition’s phantom to thy heart,
And climb o’er mammon’s slippery ascent,
And find thy spirit’s chosen better part
Beneath the lowly bending firmament?
ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.2
Lovest thou me? Why in the temple’s shrine,
Deep in thy heart such idols do I see?
Are gold, and treasure, comfort, ease supine,
The fitting peers within thy soul for me?
Are earthly loves, the truest, fondest, best,
The only arks where thy affections hide?
Where is the room within thy throbbing breast
For Christ thy own Redeemer to abide?
ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.3
Lovest thou me? Then gird mine armor on,
And bravely hie thee to the field of life;
Many have fallen in the fervid sun;
It needeth warriors in the constant strife;
Lift up thine eyes to Calvary’s mount of grief,
And view the cross blood-stained erected there;
That sight shall give thy weary heart relief,
And raise thee up a crown of life to wear.
ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.4
Religious Journals at the South
ONE of the saddest results of the treasonable rebellion of the South, is the singular ophthalmia which has fallen on religious men and journals. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.5
They do not, or will not, see the true issues involved in the struggle, and either mistake or misrepresent the position and aims of the national government. They seem to glory in breaking up the Union for which their fathers fought, and in trampling on the constitution which has been our common pride. They are ready even to renounce all grateful memories of our past history. Great allowance must be made for local prejudices and sectional partialities, but one is puzzled to understand how religious men can mistake utterly the relations between government and armed rebellion. So good and candid a man as James B. Taylor, of Richmond, writes to a Southern journal:- ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.6
“A war of aggression and invasion has been commenced by the North. A united South will occupy the defensive attitude.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.7
A highway-robber once repelled indignantly the charge of murder. “I killed the man in self-defense,” said he. “He attacked me furiously with a knife, and I was obliged to shoot him. No man ought to be blamed for defending himself.” The plea sounded well, but farther inquiry proved that the highwayman began the quarrel, by seeking to rob a peaceful traveler, and when the man drew a knife in self-defense he was instantly shot. The incident illustrates exactly the “defensive” attitude of the South. Its rebellious leaders commenced a wholesale robbery of sub-treasuries, mints, forts, arsenals, and ships of war, in short, of everything within their reach. They were foiled in the attempt to seize Fort Sumpter by the loyal energy of Major Anderson. Irritated by his fidelity to the government, they surrounded the little garrison with batteries, and then refused all supplies, hoping to compel a surrender by starvation. The government could not allow its troops to perish without an attempt to relieve them, and at once announced to Gov. Pickens its intention to send in a supply of provisions. On this announcement the fort was attacked by an overwhelming force, and in violation of the common courtesies of war, a flag of truce was not respected when the fort was in flames, but the cannonading was more furious than before. When the news of the surrender of the fort reached the rebel cabinet at Montgomery, the secretary of war announced the purpose of the cabinet to follow up the blow by an immediate seizure of Washington. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.8
The government, driven to decided action by such outrages, summoned an army of volunteers to defend the capital, and retake all stolen property. This act, essential to its very existence, our Richmond brother interprets as “a war of aggression and invasion commenced by the North,” and softly says, “A united South will occupy a defensive attitude.” It is an adroit way of “putting the question,” but not quite honest. It has no censure for treason, but deprecates enforcement of the laws. Such logic would reward the highwayman and hang the sheriff. It would overlook Adam’s plucking the fruit, and bewail his expulsion from the garden. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.9
The North Carolina Presbyterian has an equally adroit way of “putting the question” from another point of view. It says: ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.10
“Like our revolutionary fathers, the people of the South are battling for constitutional liberty, for the right of self-government, and for freedom from oppressive rule.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.11
This sounds well in self-justification, but so did the charge of the Jews against the Saviour that he had been guilty of “blasphemy” and of “stirring up the people.” It is one thing to make charges, and quite another to prove them. The government, since its organization, with a few brief intervals, has been in the hands of southern men, and if there has been “oppressive rule,” they have been its administrators. Mr. Stephens ought to be a reliable witness in the matter, and he testifies that there has been no oppression, but the South in the Union has attained a prosperity unrivaled in history. Mr. Botts challenges the whole South to specify a wrong inflicted by the government on a single citizen. As the avowed object of the Southern confederacy is to found an immense slave empire, our cotemporary must mean to say, “The people of the South are battling for freedom to establish an oppressive rule.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.12
The notions of “self-government” are quite as shadowy as those of oppressive rule. The American idea of self-government is a government of law in which the people make, and execute, and modify the laws. But the ideas of the South are radically different. The people of the United States elected a president by the ballot box, but the South would not submit to the will of the majority. They claimed that the minority should be allowed to dictate to the majority. It is a cardinal principle in self-government, that the people make and approve the laws under which they live. But in the so-called Southern confederacy, the right of the people to have a voice in framing the government is utterly denied. A constitution has been formed, and the legislatures have refused to submit it to the vote of the people. It is made the law of the land without their consent, and this is “the right of self-government” for which they are said to be battling. But worse than this, the voice of the people has been disregarded, and their instructions disobeyed. In Virginia and Tennessee (and we believe also in North Carolina, for which the Presbyterian speaks), the people voted directly on the question of secession, and decided to remain in the Union, but in defiance of these votes, their legislatures and conventions have renounced allegiance to the Union, and placed the property and arms of their respective States under the immediate control of the Montgomery congress, and Virginia is now thronged with armed troops from the so-called Southern confederacy. If this is what our cotemporary calls “constitutional liberty” and “the right of self-government,” we may be pardoned for doubting if they are worth battling for. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.13
We wish religious men at the South would look the issue now pending fairly in the face. It is not primarily a contest between sections, but a contest between government and anarchy, between constitutional order and mob law. A President is elected by the forms of the constitution, and the South rebels against the will of the people. The government seeks to administer the laws which it, in common with all citizens, has sworn to obey; and this enforcement of law which the South has not attempted in any constitutional way to repeal or modify, is called “oppression.” The South, by open violence, seizes government property within its borders, and when the administration avows its purpose to reclaim its own, the cry is raised of “aggression and invasion.” The South proscribes and imprisons government officers as traitors, banishes at the peril of life and loss of property, all loyal subjects of the Union; and when the government insists that its friends shall be protected, an alarm is raised that constitutional freedom is at stake. - Watchman and Reflector. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.14
Mis-Quotations From Scripture
THE articles on this subject which have appeared in the Observer, and are deserving of serious attention, might be greatly extended. No book is quoted so frequently as the Bible. An apposite and correct quotation from it, adds strength and beauty to editorial or essay, speech or sermon; in short to any literary production whatever. A misquotation from it, not only shocks the sensibilities of the accurate scholar, but impairs the effect of all the thoughts that are presented in connection with it. Even if the idea embodied in the quotation is preserved with the utmost exactness, a departure from verbal accuracy is always disagreeable. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 25.15
Sometimes we hear quotations made as from the Bible which have not even a verbal similarity to any passage of scripture. “God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb,” is such a quotation, but the error has been so frequently exposed that few now ascribe the sentence to any other than its real author - Sterne. Misquotations preserving some shadow of resemblance to the language of God’s word are quite numerous and are often made. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.1
“Spare the rod and spoil the child” has been quoted by many a good woman as scriptural authority for the chastisement of unruly children. An approximation to it may be found in Proverbs 13:24: “He that spareth the rod hateth his son.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.2
“As the tree falls so it lies,” is frequently cited in discussion with Universalists, in connection with texts proving the unalterable condition of man after death. The true reading is, “If the tree fall toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth there it shall be.” Ecclesiastes 11:3. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.3
In the prayers offered in social meetings we often hear - “Thou hast said, ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them, and that to bless them.’” The last clause of the sentence is a very scriptural inference from the preceding clause, but it was not said by Christ. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.4
None are more liable to misquote the Bible than those who have the most frequent occasion to quote it. Intimate familiarity with the thought does not always ensure an exact recollection of the words. It was told by an aged clergyman, that at a meeting of an association of Congregational ministers, a candidate for licensure read a sermon from the words. “Work while the day lasts.” The sermon was sound in doctrine, and free from rhetorical faults, but the old minister suggested to the candidate that he ought to write a companion sermon from the parallel passage, “Make hay while the sun shines.” The astounded candidate soon learned, and never forgot, that the language of Christ as recorded in John 9:4, is - “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.5
The true and only remedy for misquotation is never to cite a passage, - certainly never in writing, - without verifying it by “turning up” the passage and copying it directly from the book. A rigid adherence to this rule will save from many mortifying blunders. It has saved the writer from one in preparation of this very article. - N. Y. Observer. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.6
Havoc of Life by War
IT is difficult to conceive what fearful havoc this custom has made of human life. Some of its incidental ravages seem to defy belief. It has at times entirely depopulated immense districts. In modern as well as ancient times, large tracts have been left so utterly desolate that one might pass from village to village, even from city to city, without finding a solitary inhabitant. The war of 1756, waged in the heart of Europe, left in one instance no less than twenty contiguous villages without a single man or beast. The thirty year’s war, in the 17th century, reduced the population of Germany from 12,000,000 to 3,000,000 - three-fourths; and that of Wurtemburg from 500,000 to 48,000 - more than nine-tenths! Thirty thousand villages were destroyed; in many others the population entirely died out; and in districts once studded with towns and cities, there sprang up immense forests. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.7
Look at the havoc of sieges - in that of Londonderry 12,000 soldiers, besides a vast number of inhabitants; in that of Paris in the 16th century, 30,000 victims of mere hunger; in that of Ismail, 40,000; of Vienna, 70,000; of Ostend, 120,000; of Mexico, 150,000; of Aere, 300,000; of Carthage, 700,000; of Jerusalem 1,000,000. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.8
Mark the slaughter of single battles - at Lepanto, 25,000; at Austerlitz, 30,000; at Eylau, 60,000; at Waterloo and Quartre Bras, one engagement in fact, 100,000; at Borodino, 80,000; at Fontenoy, 100,000; at Arbela, 300,000; at Chalons, 300,000 of Attila’s army alone: 400,000 Usipetess slain by Julius Caesar in one battle, 430,000 Germans in another. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.9
Take only two cases more. The army of Xerxes, says Dr. Dick, must have amounted to 5,283,320, and if the attendants were one-third as great as common at the present time in Eastern countries, the sum total must have reached nearly 6,000,000. Yet in one year this vast multitude was reduced though not entirely by death, to 300,000 fighting men, and of these only 3,000 escaped destruction. Jenghiz-Khan, the terrible ravager of Asia, in the 13th century, shot 90,000 on the plains of Nesa, and massacred 200,000 at the storming of Charasm. In the district of Herot, he butchered 1,600,000, and in two cities, with their dependencies, 1,700,000. During his last twenty-seven years he is supposed by Chinese historians to have destroyed not less that 18,000,000 - a sum total of 32,000,000 in forty-one years! ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.10
In any view, what a fell destroyer is war! Napoleon’s wars sacrificed full six millions, and all the wars consequent on the French revolution, some nine or ten millions. The Spaniards are said to have destroyed in forty-two years more than twelve millions of American Indians. Grecian wars sacrificed 15,000,000; Jewish wars, 25,000,000; the wars of the Caesars, 30,000,000; and in all the wars of the Romans before Julius Caesar, 60,000,000; the wars of the Roman Empire, of the Saracens and the Turks, 60,000,000 each; those of the Tartars, 80,000,000; those of Africa, 100,000,000! ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.11
“If we take into consideration,” says the learned Dr. Dick, “the number of not only those who have fallen in battle, but of those who have perished through the natural consequences of war, it will not perhaps be overrating the destruction of human life if I affirm that one-tenth of the human race has been destroyed by the ravages of war; and, according to this estimate, more than fourteen thousand millions of human beings have been slaughtered in the wars since the beginning of the world.” Edmund Burke went still further, and reckoned the sum total of its ravages, from the first, at no less than thirty-five thousand millions. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.12
The True Purgatory
[This story is excellent, notwithstanding it expresses some popular error. We give it because of the many good things said in it. - ED.] ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.13
“Mother,” said a dying girl in Ireland “it’s a dreadful thing to die!” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.14
“It is that, my darling,” the mother said, as she fondly gazed with tearful eye upon the fading cheek of her child; it is that. Oh that I could die instead! But you have confessed, and why are you still afraid?” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.15
“Yes, I have confessed every sin I could remember, and I have got absolution, and I shall have the holy oil when I am just at the last, mother; but then I must be in the fires of purgatory soon, and you are very poor, mother.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.16
The parent’s quick affection caught the meaning of the words and their painful connection. “Ah, sure, I see it now,” she said; “true for us, Mary, we are poor, but I’ll work these fingers to the bone, but I’ll get money for the masses, and will hasten the passage to heaven. My own Mary, namesake of the Blessed Virgin, do you think your lonely mother could rest till your soul is safe in glory? No, she will work by day and pray by night to the queen of heaven and all the saints for the peace of your soul; so be easy my darling and don’t trouble for the masses any more at all.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.17
“But it will be no peace to my soul to know you have to work hard to get masses said, my own loving mother. That’s what makes it harder still to die.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.18
“Sure, but may be you’ll know nothing about it there darling; leave that all to the priest now, and say the prayers to the Virgin he bade you. That’ll bring peace to your heart.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.19
“No, it is all dark. I want to know where I am going, and more, a great deal more, than the priest would tell me. Mother,” she added quickly, “I am thinking of the death of cousin Cathleen; she had no absolution, no unction, no masses, but she died so happy.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.20
“She was a heretic, Mary, and knew nothing at all, so she died in her sins. Better as you are, dying in the holy faith of the church, and all her blessed rites, even if you don’t feel so happy as poor Cathleen.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.21
“Some words she said come over me now, mother: ‘Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.’ What did she mean? I have no comfort, no staff. I am trembling in the dark, and see only great fires beyond, and am full of fear. Cathleen did not believe in purgatory.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.22
“Hush now, Mary dear; sickness and pain have turned your mind from the right way; go to sleep and forget her, and trust in the blessed Virgin.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.23
“Well, mother, I’ll try; but I can’t help thinking it must be a happier thing to go straight to heaven at once. I wish I could remember all Cathleen said about it.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.24
“It is not for the likes of us to go straight to heaven at once, Mary; we must go the way the church directs.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.25
“But sure it’s a hard way, mother dear; I often fear that some who get into the fires of purgatory may never get out again.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.26
“Now don’t get distrustful of the masses, darling; but if the priest knew all you have been saying it would go hard with me to pay for so many. So now just leave thinking about it at all; and here’s Pat will sit by you a while, till I run to mother and back.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.27
Pat had come in and overheard part of the conversation, and now sat down by his sister’s side with a heavy heart, for the doctor said she could not recover, and he had traveled from another part of the country to see her before her death. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.28
“Mary,” said he, when their mother had left them together, “what was that about cousin Cathleen?” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.29
“Ah, Pat, I was wishing I could die as happy as she did, though it’s true she had no absolution nor unction, nor didn’t believe in purgatory, and thought she was going to heaven at once.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.30
“But you wouldn’t wish to die in error and sin, Mary?” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.31
“No; but hush now, and I’ll tell you Pat, that if ever there was an angel on earth, Cathleen was one, and I can’t believe that her soul was in hell just because -“ ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.32
“Because she believed on the blood and mercies of the Lord Jesus Christ,” exclaimed Pat. “No, Mary, for that’s just the reason she had no need to go there at all; and as for the unction, she had that too.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.33
“What’s this you’re telling me? Why, sure she was called a heretic, and she had no blessing from the hands of the church.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.34
“No, but she got it in a quicker way - straight from the hand of the Lord himself. He spoke to her soul, Mary, and comforted her with assurance of his pardon and love. Do you think she needed anybody else to tell her after that? And she had the true unction of the Holy One, and knew all things that made her wise unto salvation; and what need of oils outside after that?” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.35
Mary stared upon her brother with mingled feelings of fear and delight, at last exclaiming - ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.36
“Sure, brother, you’ve turned heretic too!” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.37
“Well, never mind that; I don’t care for nicknames at all; but I’ve been reading the Bible, Mary, God’s own blessed book, full of such melting words to poor sinners as would melt your heart.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.38
“But how did you get it? Does the priest know?” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.39
“Sure I didn’t stop to ask him; but I got it of a ‘reader,’ as he called himself, and he said that in England every man might read the Bible if he liked, and the priests - but no, not priests - the pastors of the church were always delighted to read to the people out of a poor man’s Bible. And I said to myself, ‘I’m a true and loyal subject of the queen, and why may I not do as her other subjects do, and I have a Bible of my own? So I will;’ and I did; for you know I was a bit of a scholar once. And I read and read; and some things were so pretty, and went so quick to the heart, that I couldn’t stop any more if I’m burned for it. But I havn’t told mother yet.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 26.40
“Poor mother! it will break her heart,” said Mary with a sigh. “But now, Pat, I’m out of breath with listening to you, for longing to know what it is about purgatory you’ve read in the Bible.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.1
“Why, just as much as you see in that empty platter, and that’s nothing at all; and I’ve searched from one end to the other; so make your heart easy, Mary, for you can’t go to a place that isn’t in God’s creation. You shall go - and I’ll promise you on the faith of the Holy Scriptures - straight to heaven at once, if you’ll only do one thing.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.2
“What is it Pat? Oh, what is there I wouldn’t do if I could? Is it to make a station?” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.3
“No, no, not the like of such things as that; but if you’ll listen, I’ll read it in the beautiful words that they are;” and drawing from his pocket the precious little volume that had enlightened himself, the young Irishman read, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, for the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.4
“Mary, do you think the Lord only suffered by halves, and only heals by halves? ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon.’ Isaiah 55:7. Is it to abundantly pardon to go to suffer torments in prison before we get it all, Mary?” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.5
“Oh, sure, all this is strange to my ear, Pat; but true enough, they are beautiful words.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.6
“Stop I’ve got many a leaf turned down at the like; but its all about purgatory we’re looking, and sure that brings us to the pith and marrow of it all. ‘Wherefore when he cometh (that is, when Christ cometh) into the world, he saith, In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, thou hast had no pleasure. Then I said, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. By the which we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this man when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God. For by one offering he had perfected forever them that are sanctified.’” Hebrews 10:5-7, 10-14. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.7
“Them that are sanctified, Pat, what’s that? Isn’t it to be sanctified that we go to purgatory?” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.8
“No; ‘for this is the covenant that I will make with them after these days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more.’ Now where remission of these is there is no more offering for sin, - no offering of your own sufferings my Mary, no masses for our mother to pay for. When the blessed Lord was going to be betrayed, before he was taken prisoner, he prayed for all his people, and in his prayer he said not a word of going through purgatory. And what was that? He said, ‘Sanctify them by the truth; thy word is truth.’ St. Paul said, ‘Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it by the word.’ And again, ‘How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” And to the Lord’s people at Thessalonica he said, ‘We are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.’ So, Mary, it’s Christ’s blood for us, and that’s salvation out and out.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.9
“Oh, brother, sure you’re sent for a blessing to my dying bed, to tell me these beautiful things, and all so easy and straight, and just as Cathleen used to say. But now what’s the things I’m to do, Pat? You said if I’d do one thing.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.10
“Why, then, it’s just this: Having, as the precious word says, ‘a High Priest over the house of God,’ - that is the Lord Jesus, with the one offering of himself once offered - ‘let us draw near in a true heart, with a full assurance of faith.’ Hebrews 10:21, 22. You must believe these things, and that will make them your own. ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved,’ now, at once; ‘and being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;’ and then you may rejoice in hope as it says, of the glory of God; for ‘being justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.’ Oh, Mary, it’s all of a piece; it’s all like the word of God, worth loving and preserving forever. Now can you find it in your heart to trust what God says?” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.11
“I’m afraid it’s too good to be true.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.12
“It’s true, for it’s in the Holy Bible, and God has said it; and the reason the priest doesn’t believe it is clear, too, for such words go clean to upset his whole patchwork of absolution, masses and purgatory; but, Mary, just leave minding his reason, and turn to the Lord himself, - ‘Draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith;’ it’s faith you must get, and not masses, Mary. The offering is made, the blood is shed that must wash away all your sins, so that there is nothing to do but believe in Christ alone.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.13
“Faith, faith, what is it?” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.14
It’s just believing the Lord, that he says true, and will do as he has promised, before you get the thing promised. Sure, Mary dear, you don’t think I’d tell a lie?” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.15
“No, that I do not, the kind brother that you’ve been to me, it’s the soul of truth you always were.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.16
“Then think still better and higher of Christ that died for you; believe what he says at once. And then, Mary dear, if indeed you must leave us, if you must not stay any longer here, you will pass without fear through the shadowy valley, having the staff of truth to lean upon; and your happy spirit, absent from the body, shall be, for he says it, ‘present with the Lord.’” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.17
“Oh, Pat, Cathleen might well be happy to learn all this; but you must say it all over and over again when mother is not by, for it’s taking the thorns from the dying pillow one by one, and I do think I’ll be able to believe it all. But what will the priest say? Perhaps he will curse me for a heretic, Pat;” and she shuddered at the thought. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.18
“Och, but it’ll do the most harm to himself then. Never fear. Be true, and hold fast by the Lord Jesus and his own words, and you need not fear what men can do.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.19
“And our poor mother, who loves the church and the Virgin, and so many saints, and believes in them all.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.20
“Ah, we must say something now and then out of the Word, that will catch her ear and win her heart, and above all, pray to God to enlighten her with the Holy Spirit, that she may know her darling is safe in glory when we are left lonely by the grave-side. Sure it’s a blessed religion to comfort us all whether living or dying; and I only wish the sweet story was told from Ballycastle to Cape Clear, till every man, woman, and child should know that Jesus died for them, and for his sake God can have mercy on them that believe. Och, wouldn’t Ireland be the happy land, then; for I know who would have to emigrate pretty quick, or turn and preach the gospel. It’s the gospel we want, and then it’s God’s word and not mine that says, Happy is that people whose God is the Lord.’” - Slightly abridged from the Tract Magazine. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.21
Our Father
“I WILL be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters saith the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:18. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.22
Tried Christian, thou art not an orphan! Thou hast a Father. God, in all the glory of his nature and perfections, is thy Father. He has adopted thee for his own. He has regenerated thee by his Spirit. He has called thee out of the world, and has promised to do a father’s part by thee. He says, “I will be a Father unto you.” Do you want advice? Consult your Father. Do you need supplies? Ask them of your Father. Are you tormented with cares? Cast them on your Father. Are you alarmed at foes? Cry unto your Father. Do your difficulties appear insurmountable? Appeal to your Father. God is not merely a Father in name; he has a father’s nature. He not only calls us his sons and daughters, but wishes us to act towards him as such. We should exercise confidence in his love. We should trust in his word. We should appeal to his paternal heart. We should look for our supplies from his hand. In everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, we should let our requests be made known unto God. He loves to see us confide in his care, rely on his word, expect his communications, and acquiesce in his will. Believer, whatever trials may befall thee; whatever troubles may come upon thee; whatever enemies may rise up against thee; whatever changes may take place in thy circumstances, one thing can never befall thee: thou canst never be Fatherless, therefore thou canst never be friendless. Thou art God’s child, however poor thy circumstances or trying thy path. What an unspeakable mercy! ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.23
“We are the children of God; and if children then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.” Romans 8:16, 17. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.24
A Greater Wonder than Blondin
EVERY one who walks by faith is a greater wonder than Blondin on his tight rope. The line which supports the faith-walker is stretched over an abyss for more terrible than the basin and rapids of the Niagara. It is utterly invisible to sense; sometimes faith itself can hardly see it; impenetrable mists envelop the farther shore. Blondin accomplishes his feat by the force of iron muscle and an iron will, and cool, watchful self-reliance. They who walk by faith are generally full of fears and terrors; they utterly distrust themselves, and cast affrighted glances now at the abyss below, now to the dark shore beyond, and then upward for help and support. Here is one strong point of contrast: if Blondin’s self-possession and self-reliance should fail him for an instant he would be in extreme peril. The moment the walker by faith relies on himself, he is gone, unless the mercy of God speedily prevent him. And yet while there is a great multitude, which no man can number, of men, women and children, old and young, weak and strong, who are perform this hard and perilous walk by faith, not one of the faithful shall fall away; all shall get safely over, and finish their course with joy, amidst the acclamations of angels on the other side. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.25
THE BIBLE THE KEY TO THE HEART. - If I had a lock of very complicated construction, and there was only one key that would unlock it, I should feel very sure that key was made by one who understood the construction of that lock. So when I find that, notwithstanding all the windings and mysteries of the human heart, the Bible and the Bible only, is adapted to it throughout, and is able to penetrate its most secret recesses, I am constrained to believe the Bible was made by him who “alone knoweth the hearts of the children of men.” - Webster. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 27.26
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
“Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.”
BATTLE CREEK, MICH. THIRD-DAY, JUNE 18, 1861.
JAMES WHITE, EDITOR
PERSONALITY OF GOD
MAN was made in the image of God. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him.” Genesis 1:26, 27. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.1
Those who deny the personality of God say that “image” here does not mean physical form, but moral image, and they make this the grand starting point to prove the immortality of all men. The argument stands thus: ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.2
1. Man was made in God’s moral image. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.3
2. God is an immortal being. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.4
3. Therefore all men are immortal. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.5
But this mode of reasoning proves too much. Let us see. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.6
1. Man was made in God’s moral image. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.7
2. God is an omnipotent being. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.8
3. Therefore, man is omnipotent. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.9
And so we might prove man omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent as well as immortal, and clothe him with all the attributes of the Deity. That which proves too much, proves nothing to the point, therefore the premise that the image of God means his moral image is false. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.10
As proof that God is a person, hear his own words to Moses: “And the Lord said, Behold there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock; and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by. And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts; but my face shall not be seen. Exodus 33:21-23. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.11
Here God tells Moses that he shall see his form. To say that God made it appear to Moses that he saw his form when he has no form, is charging God with adding to falsehood a sort of juggling deception upon his servant Moses. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.12
The skeptic thinks he sees a contradiction between verse 11, which says that the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, and verse 20, which states that Moses could not see his face. But let Numbers 12:5-8 remove the difficulty. “And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forth. And he said, Hear now my words. If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.13
The great and dreadful God came down, wrapped in a cloud of glory. This cloud could be seen, but not that face which possesses more dazzling brightness than a thousand suns. Under these circumstances Moses was permitted to draw near and converse with God face to face, or mouth to mouth, even apparently. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.14
Says the prophet Daniel, “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hairs of his head like the pure wool; his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.” Chap 7:9. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.15
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him, and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom.” Verses 13, 14, ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.16
Here is a sublime description of the action of two personages; viz., God the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ. Deny their personality, and there is not a distinct idea in these quotations from Daniel. In connection with this quotation read the Apostle’s declaration that the Son was in the express image of his Father’s person. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.17
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” Hebrews 1:1-3. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.18
We here add the testimony of Christ on this subject. “And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.” John 5:37. To say that the Father has not a personal shape seems the most pointed contradiction of plain Scripture terms. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.19
Objection. “God is a Spirit.” Answer. Angels are also spirits [Psalm 104:4], yet those that visited Abram and Lot, lay down, ate, and took hold of Lot’s hand. They were spirit beings. So is God a Spirit being. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.20
Obj. God is everywhere. Proof. Psalm 139:1-8. He is as much in every place as in any one place. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.21
Ans. 1. God is everywhere by virtue of his omniscience, as will be seen by the very words of David referred to above. Verses 1-6. “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising; thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high; I cannot attain unto it.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.22
2. God is everywhere by virtue of his Spirit, which is his representative, and is manifested wherever he pleases, as will be seen by the very words the objector claims, referred to above. Verses 7-10. “Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.23
God is in heaven. This we are taught in the Lord’s prayer. “Our Father which art in heaven.” Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2. But if God, who is in heaven, is as much in every place as he is in any one place, then heaven is also as much in every place as it is in any one place, and the idea of going to heaven is all a mistake. We are all in heaven. And the Lord’s prayer according to this foggy theology simply means, Our Father which art everywhere, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is everywhere, etc. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.24
(To be continued.)
“BLESSED
ARE they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” This declaration is found among the blessings upon the good, uttered by our Lord in his sermon on the mount. Matthew 5. Comfort is here promised to the mourners. It cannot be supposed that they mourn for earthly losses, or because they are detected in crime and brought to justice; for they are classed with the “meek,” the “poor in spirit,” the “merciful,” and the “pure in heart.” It is proper, therefore, to conclude that these blessed mourners have godly sorrow for their sins, which works in them a change of life. They see in themselves a fearful contrast with the holiness of God, the loveliness of Christ, and the purity of the christian character, as set forth in the Scriptures, and they abhor self, and mourn for the heavenly graces. Such will be comforted. All those precious promises to repenting, trembling, weeping, mourning souls will be fulfilled in them. But the deceived, self-righteous, have no right to these promises. Being ignorant of true humility, they feel that they are “rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing,” and know not that they are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.25
Such see nothing in themselves to cause them to mourn, and they can never taste the blessed results of true mourning until they are undeceived in relation to their own condition. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.26
The apostle James says, “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” Chap 4:9, 10. We here see the arm of the Lord reached down to raise up the weeping mourner, and give him joy unspeakable and full of glory. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.27
Another apostle says, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” 1 Peter 5:6. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.28
Says the True Witness, “Be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with me.” Revelation 3:19, 20. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.29
Says the prophet, “Before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger come upon you, seek ye the Lord all ye meek of the earth which have wrought his judgments.” Zephaniah 2:2, 3. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.30
The forgoing texts were called to mind by the following lines from Bro. T. M. Steward. They will be read with deep interest, especially by those who have greatly desired his prosperity. MAUSTON, WIS., JUNE 3, 1861. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.31
BRO. WHITE: It has become my painful duty to address you again on a subject I am ashamed of. Yet I feel it is my duty to say more. I have seen Testimony No. 6, and am very thankful for it, especially that portion referring to me. Sometimes it seems almost impossible for it to be true, but I believe it is. And I am glad, that while Satan is at work by his delusions, God has not left his people without reproof. May the Lord prepare our hearts to receive it according to the language of Psalm 141:4. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.32
I am sorry I tried to justify myself at all, for I did believe it, 1 and the only reason I did not go farther was because I could not. I tried hard. I am ashamed of, and do much regret, the reception you all three found at Mauston last fall. I am sure it has caused you much sorrow and pain of mind. May the Lord save you from the like again. I have mourned, and do still mourn, that I should prove a burden to any one. I hope you will forgive me. I am now thankful you came, and that you dealt with us so plainly, and I begin to think perhaps it was not so harsh under the circumstances as I thought. May the Lord reward you for your labor of love with us. Gladly will I make amends for all the wrongs I have caused, as far as I can, the Lord helping. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.33
Dear brother, forgive all that I have said or written that has wounded your feelings, and pray for me. O, pride! May I crucify it. And Sr. White, will you again forgive the wrongs I have done you? I do hope to be more guarded in the future. How thankful I ought to be that Jesus condescended to send me a warning. Shall I reject it? No! No!! I’ll heed it, and try to profit by it, and grow wiser and better by the Lord’s correction. I am sorry I have such an inclination to parley with reproof. I feel I have done wrong. May the Lord help me to overcome. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.34
I hope my preaching brethren will forgive my wrongs toward them. When I think what has transpired, I blush with shame. But, brethren, my heart’s desire is to do right. Pray for me. And my dear brethren and sisters abroad, one and all, I want you to forgive me. Many of you I never expect to see in this life, but let us strive to meet in the world to come. I want to bear a part in the third angel’s message, for I do believe it to be the last warning to the world. I want the Lord to open my heart to me more yet, so I can see myself, and get just right. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.35
When I appointed the conference here last fall, little did I think what a snare Satan had set for me. I expected we should be united as one family. But alas! alas!! What do I see! Then my heart was buoyant, but now mourning and sorrow, regret and pain, fill my heart. O, I do feel to rejoice that I have a dear Saviour to go to. May I ever be true to him and his cause, and at last reign with him in his kingdom. Amen. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.36
T. M. STEWARD.
P. S. I have delayed this longer than I should, if I had not expected you here. I want to talk to you face to face. May the Lord bless you abundantly in your labors. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.37
T. M. S.
There are reasons why Bro. S. finds himself in his present position. Some of those we shall attempt to point out for his good, and the good of others who may be in danger of falling into like troubles. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.38
1. He but partially recovered himself from the snare understood by many as the “Messenger influence.” A more poisonous, reckless and wicked influence probably never manifested itself among those professing godliness. As far as Bro. S. fell under this influence, so far he fell under, and acted under, the most direct influence of the Devil. He has had time and opportunity to see all this. The course of Stephenson and Hall, the rapidity with which that party went down, and the signal favors of Divine providence toward those whom they arose to persecute, have all been before Bro. S., and with this weight of evidence before him, he should have shaken off the last vestige of that unhallowed influence, and should have fully identified himself with, and placed himself under the counsel of, those who bore with them, in their labors marks of Divine favor, ARSH June 18, 1861, page 28.39
2. Failing to do this, he was left to sympathize, at least, with the leaders of a ruinous fanaticism, and to virtually reject the labors of those whom God sent to Mauston to pull souls out of the fire, and save the cause from reproach. The position occupied by Bro. S. strengthened the hands of those whose reason was well nigh dethroned, they mistaking the wiles of the Devil for the Spirit of holiness, and they rushed on till their folly was made manifest to all, themselves not excepted. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.1
3. Then Bro. S. had not a shadow of a doubt as to who were in the wrong in this matter. Then he should have led off in a manly, open, frank and Christian confession of the delusion, and the wrong part he had acted in relation to it. Others would have followed; but time passed on, and the young churches in Northern Wisconsin were left to bleed from the wounds caused by the fanaticism, while the leaders were still complaining of harshness on the part of those God sent to save them from the delusion. This is the most disgusting feature of the whole affair. As though those in error and delusion were the ones to judge just how they are to be helped out. If they can direct others they can help themselves. But the fact that they are incompetent to judge of their own situation, and of their wants, seems to be a good reason why God should send others to to help them. There can be no greater evidence of blindness and lack of true consecration on the part of the erring than complaints against those who undertake the disagreeable task to set them right. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.2
But we rejoice that Bro. S. has finally thrown himself into the hands of the Lord and of his brethren. It has doubtless been the faithfulness of those who have dealt plainly with him that has assisted him to take right ground. Had he been “let alone” he probably would have been left to go still further in a wrong direction. Misplaced sympathy has often confirmed the erring in their errors, and stood between them and those who would help them. This false sympathy on the part of ministers and people has had a tendency to cripple the pure testimony, and is among the highest sins of the church. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.3
But while we urge the necessity of all the faithfulness required in God’s word in laboring with the erring, we would urge also all the forgiveness, pity and love taught in the word. Bro. S. need not always mourn. It is not too late for wrongs to be righted. God will forgive sins for which we exercise true repentance, and his people will love to forgive also. “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” As Bro. S. walks out from the influences which have injured him, and places himself under the watchcare of his brethren, it will be the highest pleasure of the brotherhood to sympathize with him in the arduous work of a messenger, and to love him as a brother. May God bless him and his, and help them in the future to make straight paths lest the lame be turned out of the way, and bring them at last to the kingdom. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.4
IS THERE NO CONTRADICTION?
“DEATH is the dawn of a higher life.” So said the minister at the funeral to-day. His next words were substantially these: “The Christian while struggling with the ‘last enemy,’ can say in the language of the Apostle, ‘We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.’” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.5
If death is the dawn of a higher life, we should call it the friend and benefactor of the human race. Why then did the preacher call it, in the next sentence, the last enemy? The answer is easy: Paul called it so. But did Paul say also that death was the dawn of a higher life? Not at all. No such sentiment was uttered by him. He nowhere contradicts the idea that death is an enemy, and as such shall be destroyed. It was the preacher of to-day that contradicted Paul. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.6
What would the poor low-lived inhabitants of earth do, if the dawn of a higher life should be destroyed? But death is to be destroyed by the resurrection of the saints, and in that glorious day the saying shall be brought to pass: O death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory? The sting of “the dawn of a higher life” is sin. The wages of sin is “the dawn of a higher life.” This is the harmony of Paul and the modern preacher. But Christ gives his people a victory over this dawn of a higher life, and Paul thanks God for it. So do I. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.7
“Death is the dawn of a higher life.” So says the Spiritualist - so says the preacher. Here is harmony. And as death is the lot of us all, saint and sinner, it follows that the liar, the thief, the adulterer, and the murderer are, at death, ushered into a higher life! Spiritualism says, Amen - so it is. But “Orthodoxy” casts such wicked sinners down into the lowest hell, and this at death. Is this a higher life? ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.8
Spiritualism and the Bible are perfect antagonisms - directly opposed to each other. My dear christian friends, will you not choose one or the other, and no longer try to reconcile the two? Yes, you will choose soon, and the day is at hand. Be entreated to renounce the doctrines of Spiritualism and choose the plain and harmonious doctrines of the Bible. Choose a higher life by renouncing every sin, and keeping every one of God’s ten commandments, and be satisfied to receive that higher life at the first resurrection when death will be destroyed. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.9
David said, “I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.” Your friend will be satisfied when David is, provided he is so happy as to get the victory over sin. So will you. Then cease to try to make a covenant with death, and to be at agreement with the grave. See Isaiah 28:15-18. Be assured that death will not fulfill his part of the covenant - he will not introduce you to a higher life. If you are so happy as to obtain that life, the honor will be given to Christ and the resurrection, and not to death and the Devil, the great enemies of man, which are to be destroyed. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.10
My friend, I will try to meet you in a higher life, at the resurrection of the just, when the shout of victory over death and the grave will burst from the lips of every redeemed soul. May this be our portion. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.11
R. F. C.
MEETINGS AT ROUND GROVE, ILLS
HAVING a spare Sabbath between the Avon conference and tent operations I thought I would visit Round Grove. Accordingly I spent with that church Sabbath and first-day, June 1st and 2nd. I found some still opposed to organization, occupying a position like this: They thought it all right to organize so as to hold meeting-houses and the office property, but they thought it was wrong to take a name and have that name recorded on the books of the government. I tried to show them that they had got themselves into a paradox; for before property can be held by law it is necessary to take such steps that the government may know who proposes to hold the property. It was said, “We are afraid we shall get one of the names of the beast if we take a name.” We showed them that we could not get the name of the beast until we became a part of the beast, and as I showed in the article on “The Image of the Beast,” the name of the beast is obtained (not by a legal business transaction to hold property, but) by taking steps to cause them to recognize and enforce our faith. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.12
Again, I disclaim that the name “Seventh-day Adventists” is the name of the beast, and have been disgusted with the fanatical ideas advanced by some on this subject. It is strange to me that any one can suppose that the two-horned beast will make war on those that keep the commandments, and yet enforce upon them the name “Seventh-day Adventists.” It is stranger still to suppose that those who have had the burden and labor for years of getting the third angel’s message before the people, have all gone into the very things the message warned against, while a few in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, etc., who never had the burden of the message upon them are all that have the light on the matter. If this is so what is the third angel’s message good for? ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.13
The burden of my testimony to the church was the propriety of more strict organization in the church, and the necessity of all striving to move in union with the body of God’s people. Most of the brethren and sisters were ready to organize when we came to the place. We had a good time talking with the church, and before we left organized a church with a list of twenty names. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.14
Bro. Sanborn and myself are now holding tent-meetings at Clinton Junction (Ogden P. O.) Rock Co. Wis., with good interest and large congregations. We have given seven discourses already, and expect with the Lord’s blessing to see much good accomplished here. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.15
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
Clinton Junction, Wis., June 12, 1861.
MEETINGS IN MICH
MAY 16th, left Chesaning, Saginaw Co., and came to Linden, Genesee Co. Here we held meetings on the Sabbath with a few Sabbath-keepers at the house of Bro. A. Jones. First-day, 18th, we were offered a hall near the R. R., in which we preached twice. One of my hearers who had attentively listened to our subjects (formerly a preacher in the place), made some remarks after I had closed the meeting, the substance of which was to prove that Christ had come the second time. For proof he referred to his transfiguration on the mount. Matthew 17. We replied that his transfiguration could not be his second coming, for that event occurred during his first advent. Matthew 24 was also quoted to prove that he did come the second time at the destruction of Jerusalem. We endeavored to show him that if he could prove what he had asserted, then he would have two second comings of the Saviour, one some twelve months before his mission closed at his first advent; the other forty years after, viz., in A. D. 70, at the destruction of Jerusalem. He appeared unwilling to pursue the subject any further. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.16
May 20, left Linden for Greenbush, Clinton Co., where we tarried until the 24th, laboring with the church to set things in order. They are seldom visited, but manifest a strong desire to go forward in the message and adopt all the measures recommended by the general conference for the furtherance of the cause. Our third and last preaching meeting with them was at the village school-house, at the close of which one man said he felt it was his duty to keep the Sabbath. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.17
Sabbath and first-day, 25 and 26, held meetings in Orange, Ionia Co. Brethren from Ionia, North Plains and Portland met with us here, and were refreshed and strengthened in the Lord. One more decided to keep all God’s commandments. These brethren and sisters manifest a strong desire to be united in all the work of the Seventh-day Adventists. The Lord also answered prayer for the afflicted. Praise his holy name! ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.18
June 1, had the pleasure of worshiping with the church again in Monterey, except the few families that are now sojourning in Battle Creek. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.19
JOSEPH BATES.
Monterey, Mich.
BRO. CZECHOWSKI
DEAR BRO. WHITE: We have felt interested for our dear Bro. Czechowski ever since he embraced the truth, and we are glad that his case is considered in the Good Samaritan. We readily acquiesce in your remarks in regard to Bro. C., and would here state that we did not know that he really intended to go to New York, till he had laid his plans so deep that his mind could not be changed. We are thankful that Bro. C. has been protected of the Lord in New York, and that he is willing “to submit to all his providences and move according to the best advice of the church.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.20
At our last monthly meeting the case of Bro. C. was considered, and the brethren came to the conclusion that it might be right for Bro. C. to come to Vermont, and pledged $40 to move Bro. C’s family among the French in Northern Vermont. Though the church in Northern Vermont have to help two or three preachers, yet they feel willing to do all they can to make Bro. C. comfortable. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 29.21
I wrote to Bro. C. yesterday, and asked him if he could not leave his affairs in the hands of some judicious brother, and move immediately to Northern Vermont, where his wants can be more easily supplied. I have found a house that Bro. C. can occupy. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.1
Now, dear brother, if you have any suggestions to make, please make them immediately. I do not want to move rashly. May God give us wisdom. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.2
Could you not get up a subscription in the Review, to raise means to pay Bro. C’s debts, etc.? I expect to hear from you soon. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.3
From your unworthy brother in Christ.
D. T. BOURDEAU.
West Enosburgh, Vt., 11, 1861.
NOTE. The REVIEW is open for propositions to assist Bro. C. We refer you to the excellent judgment of such as Brn. A. C. Bourdeau, Saxby, Austin, Bingham, Morse, Peck, Pierce, Barrows, C. O. Taylor, Whipple, and a score like them. I can give no time to such matters, and do myself justice. Bro. Bingham not long since sent $100 for missionary purposes. That can be spared if needed. - ED. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.4
SYSTEMATIC BENEVOLENCE
I HAVE not kept silence on the subject of Systematic Benevolence because of not favoring the plan. I have watched the plan since it was first proposed and put into operation, and it seems to me that as far as means are concerned this plan has been the salvation of the cause of present truth from bankruptcy. In places where, before the adoption of this plan, the brethren thought they could scarcely take care of themselves and did comparatively nothing for the support of the cause, we see them now stating that their Systematic Benevolence amounts to over $100 a year. I think what this plan has accomplished should be sufficient to carry it above all the trifling objections that are raised against it. But still as some object to it, I thought I would make a few remarks on a couple of the objections that some have of late made to me on this subject. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.5
One says, “I have no objection to Systematic Benevolence as it was first entered into (as they entered into it I suppose) to let each one give what he wished each week; but this last plan, proposed in Samaritan No. 5, will rob our children of what we ought to do for them.” I do not understand that the last plan proposed differs materially from the object aimed at in the first plan. One object of the plan as first proposed was “that there might be an equality in raising the necessary means to support the cause.” This equality could not be gained by such a case as the following: A., a mechanic who has no property but his tools, and is dependent on his labor to support himself and family, denies himself of many comforts of life and gives twenty-five cents a week. B., a farmer in good circumstances, and a fair crop of wheat coming on, does not know how he shall be prospered, thinks he must have all the comforts of life any way, and puts down ten cents a week. Any reasonable man says that is not equality. Now the last plan proposed will bring these upon an equality by taking a tenth part of their increase, and this can be easily told by the farmer, for he knows that his land if tillable will average him ten per cent a year increase, taking one year with another, after making all due allowance for occasionally a poor crop or low prices. And a mechanic can tell without much difficulty what he averages each year. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.6
This plan of a tenth of the increase is certainly in accordance with the ancient plan of tithing, and as has been already shown, Malachi has declared to those who are living just before the coming of Christ that they are “robbing God in tithes.” I hope brethren and sisters we shall bring in all the tithes and make the sacrifice God has required of us (see Testimony No. 6). The objection against this plan referred to above might have been urged by the Israelites with equal force against the ancient mode of tithing. Perhaps it would be better for children to labor more and secure their own livelihood than to be put at once in possession of large sums of money without ever having known by experience how to manage property. As far as I have noticed, at least, those who have gotten means by their own efforts generally manage it better than those who have it put into their possession without any effort on their part to accumulate it. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.7
Another one says he thinks it is wrong to pledge ourselves to do something that we do not know that we can do, and thinks the Bible is rather against pledging. Now I think it is not a very difficult matter in this case at least to show that the Bible is not against pledging, but in favor of it. If you turn to 2 Corinthians 8, you will find Paul stirring up the brethren on this subject of which he had spoken to them the year before in his first epistle (see 1 Corinthians 16:1, 2). “And herein I give my advice; for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.” Verses 10, 11. What can this mean? Here was something that they willed a year before that they were then to perform out of their substance. It seems to me they must have pledged something on the matter a year before, and Paul wishes them now to redeem their pledges. Here it seems they had willed on the subject in such a way that Paul knew it. Of course it could not have been a secret will, but must have been a pledge. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.8
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
Crane’s Grove, Ills.
THE SABBATH LAW
[DEAR BRO. WHITE: The author of the following is a young Adventist, who was converted last fall at an Advent camp-meeting in this place. He has been studying the Bible for evidence to prove to me that the Sabbath was merely a Jewish rite, and not binding on Christians at the present time. After searching until he was satisfied which side the evidence was on, he wrote the following which I now copy and send to you the Review. Truth is stronger than error. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.9
H. M. W.
Westford, Mass.]
Exodus 20:8, 9, reads thus: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work,” etc. Here is a law claiming to regulate a seventh portion of our time for religious purposes, the highest end of life. All other time is secular; this is holy. That may be occupied with things which perish in the using; this must be given to things which take hold on eternity. Many questions are raised concerning this law, but one question is paramount over all the rest: Does the law of the Sabbath bind us in this dispensation? ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.10
Some laws expire by limitation, and some did expire that were given by Moses; but no limit was fixed to the observance of the fourth commandment when first given, nor afterwards. The great Lawgiver of the world is God. He ordained the law of the Sabbath; and he has never repealed it. Is any evidence of such repeal found in the Scriptures? If so, where is the book, the chapter, the verse containing it? Christ did not repeal it, for he says so in Matthew 5:17, nor do the apostles any where declare that it was repealed. Were the other commandments spoken by God from Sinai? So was this. Were the others written by the finger of God on tables of stone? So was this. Were the others deposited in the ark of the testimony, in the Holy of Holies? So was this. Christ says, I came not to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfill; and he said it as much of this as of any other precept. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.11
Did Christ’s most devoted followers keep the other commandments? So did they keep this. Luke 23:56. Mark the wording of it: it is enacted both positively and negatively: ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.12
1. Positively. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 2. Negatively. In it thou shalt do no manner of work. Mark the first word of this solemn command: “Remember.” This command is not only addressed to the head of the family, but also the son, the daughter, the man-servant, the maid-servant, and in reference to the cattle and the stranger. It is also stated by God, that he set us the example on the completion of the creation, and shall we not follow such an example? We are commanded to be holy, because God is holy; to forgive our enemies, because God forgives his enemies. Then ought we not to keep the seventh day, because God kept it? He says, “It is mine;” it is “the Sabbath of the Lord your God.” Surely will you deny to your God, a right so equitable, a demand so fair? ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.13
In both the Old and New Testaments God claims the day as his; viz., Exodus 20:10; Isaiah 58:13; Revelation 1:10. Pious men acknowledge this claim. Nehemiah 9:14; Luke 23:56. In Isaiah 56:1-7, and 58:14, it says that to such God will give in his house and within his walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters. He will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. He will make them joyful in his house of prayer; and blessings, like those which came upon Jacob, shall fall upon them. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.14
Jeremiah 17:27, and Ezekiel 20:21 denounce a curse against those who profane this holy day. God says he has given us the Sabbath. “I gave them my Sabbaths, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them” [Ezekiel 20:12] - that they might have proper time to acquire the knowledge of God and salvation. Christ himself taught the same when he said, “The Sabbath was made for man.” Mark 2:27. It was made to do him good and not evil. It was not made for the Jew alone, but for the whole race of man. We see by reading Luke 23:56, that the holy women, who wished to anoint our Lord’s body, would not do it until the Sabbath was over. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.15
Prophecy requires a Sabbath in the Christian dispensation. Isaiah 66:23; Revelation 1:10. In Matthew 24, Christ, referring to the setting up of the abomination of desolation, says, “Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day.” This, of course, shows that there was a Sabbath in existence at the time referred to, which was many years after the ascension of Christ. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.16
Having shown that the law of the Sabbath is still binding, let us see what it forbids. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.17
1. It forbids all labor not required by necessity or mercy. Genesis 2:2, 3. “And God rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.” So in the fourth commandment, we are required to do all our work in six days, and are forbidden to do any work on the Sabbath. Exodus 23:12. God says, “Six days shalt thou do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest.” Exodus 31:15. “Six days may work be done, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy unto the Lord.” Leviticus 23:3; Jeremiah 17:27, etc. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.18
These commands are clearly expressed, and are given by divine authority, in the most solemn language; and there are no exceptions but those of necessity and mercy, as laid down in Matthew 12:1-13; Mark 3:1, 4; Luke 6:6-9; 13:15, 16; 14:1-6; John 5:10-17. And yet how many abuse the doctrine of necessity and mercy to defend their violations of the Sabbath day. God has said, Six days shalt thou work, but on the seventh thou shalt rest; in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. But how few practice it; and if success has attended any one in profaning the Sabbath in doing evil, let him or her remember that “the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.19
In conclusion the fourth commandment is spiritual, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It does not only forbid us to do and to speak what we please on that day, but it binds our thoughts and hearts to delight in its holy service. Isaiah 58:13. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.20
In keeping God’s commandments there is great reward. Some people consider that this is quite unnecessary; that we have no Sabbath now which we are under any obligation to keep; that this is a privilege of the new dispensation over the old. But the Law-giver has never done away his law. Let us then make all arrangements within six days, and whatever may be the inconvenience, remember the day which God has blessed. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.21
May God impress these truths upon our hearts as they never yet have been, and help us to remember that we must give an account at last. ANDREW J. BOIS. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.22
BREVITIES
A GIFT recalled never was a gift. Such sacrifices were not freely bestowed; and he who mentions a gift in such a light as implying it might be rescinded, only shows his misgivings. Give what you give, and do not think for a moment of ever claiming it again. What would society become if all free gifts in the past were posted up as if for collection. Let a man be clear as to his ability, and measure his gift by his ability, and then resist the suggestions of the adversary; but if one has already sacrificed his earthly treasures, let him beware of thinking of it for a moment grudgingly; it is on record in heaven, and Satan knows that your unhappy regrets will blot that record and hence his efforts to distress your mind. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 30.23
The coming of the Lord draweth nigh, but the best way to show that we believe it is to get ready for it. We should publish it in every place and at all times, when we can glorify God by so doing; but these sentiments and teachings must be backed up by a holy life, else they become insipid. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.1
We honor the still, virtuous housewife, who is engaged in preparing her house for her husband’s return, far more than we do the noisy woman, who, while she extols her husband’s virtues, neglects to do the things that please him. So here we see some talking much of the coming of Christ whose works deny him; while others show by their works that they are every moment as in expectation of that event. Their words, too, declare the advent near. Yet some, who think that religion consists in professions, neglecting the keeping of the heart, and letting down the standard of holiness, think to recommend themselves to God, by shouting about the advent, which, if they do not take care, will be a very sad time for them. O let our lives as well as words proclaim this event; and until this alliance is found, our teachings are insipid and null. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.2
J. C.
REJOICE
REJOICE, ye travelers to mount Zion! But why should I rejoice, says one, when trouble, trials and disappointment, are my lot continually? How can I rejoice when everything turns against me? Well, afflicted one, you ought to rejoice that God has permitted you to live, and has given you the use of your rational powers, so that you can reason, and understand for what purpose he created you, and placed you upon his earth. You should rejoice that God has given you his revealed word, so that you may know how finally to escape the troubles of this life, by preparing for another state of existence, where there will be no sorrow, but where the inhabitants will be forever happy. Would not this be far better than never to exist? O yes, certainly it would. Then rejoice that God has seen fit to give you existence, and, as any one would do who would follow the dictates of reason, prepare by obeying your Creator for a better world than this, and not as many will do, rush headlong through life, not following what reason says to them, not regarding the wonderful offers of happiness and everlasting life by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.3
Rejoice ye way-worn travelers. Rejoice that time is short; that eternity is near; that the race is almost run. Do not faint by the way. Do not give up in despair, but struggle on, suffer on, a little longer. Experience tells us that a consciousness of earnestly striving to do right in all things will tend much to sweeten the bitter draught we may be called to drink. Rejoice that you can be made pure and holy by passing through the furnace of affliction. It is written that those who will be arrayed in white robes and stand before the throne of God, are those who have come up out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.4
Rejoice that there is one who knows all you have to bear, and is touched with the feeling of your infirmities, and is able and willing to help you in every trying hour. Yes, rejoice in Christ Jesus. Rejoice that you may suffer with Him who was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.5
Finally, in the language of the apostle I would say, “Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say rejoice.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.6
A. L. GUILFORD.
Monroe, Wis.
There is not a superfluous passage in all God’s book; if you cannot see the importance, glory, or necessity of any now, you may by and by. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.7
Mercy is willingness to pity and relieve; grace is a willingness to do so freely, to the most unworthy. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.8
THE REPENTING SINNER
Lo! I come a trembling sinner,
Save me Lord, or else I die!
I would walk beneath thy banner,
Thou wilt not my plea deny.
Bleeding Jesus,
To thy bosom I would fly.
ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.9
While with awe to thee my Father
I lift up my streaming eyes,
Wilt thou with thy chosen gather
My poor name? O bid me rise,
And rejoicing
Shout aloud in sweet surprise.
ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.10
Yes, I feel that thou dost love me,
O thy wondrous power to save!
Thou art very high above me,
Yet I know by thee I live.
O my Saviour.
Thou wilt freely all forgive.
ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.11
I would place upon the altar
All I have, and keep it there,
Onward go and never falter,
Ever watchful unto prayer.
Jesus guide me,
Till I reach the city fair.
A. L. GUILFORD.
ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.12
REPORT FROM GILBOA, OHIO
AT a business meeting of the brethren of Gilboa, held on the evening of June 1, 1861, it was unanimously ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.13
Voted, That we rescind, as far as we are concerned, the action of the Ohio conference of last October, as far as related to taking the tax duplicate as the basis of adjusting our financial duties, considering it inadequate to secure the equality contemplated. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.14
The plan of Systematic Benevolence is adopted. Our donations will be about $2,25 per week. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.15
J. P. FLEMING, Chairman.
M. T. OLDS, Secretary.
LETTERS
“Then they that feared the Lord, spake often one to another.”
From Bro. Allen
DEAR BRO. WHITE: I wish to say a few words to the saints scattered abroad, to let them know that I am still homeward bound. During the past winter I have tried to do what I could in my Master’s cause, though it has been but very little. A little over two weeks ago I came into Minnesota on business, and stopped at Cherry Grove. Bro. Bostwick had been through the place, and had given them two discourses. The people were very anxious to hear more. I consented to give them a few lectures. The interest has been increasing ever since. Last evening four rose up and declared their determination to obey the truth; and as near as I can learn, there are three more who have decided to keep the commandments. Pray brethren and sisters that not only these but many more may be wholly sanctified through the truth. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.16
Yours in love, striving for the kingdom.
W. M. ALLEN.
Cherry Grove, Minn.
From Sister Shaw
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: Although a stranger to you, still I trust I am not a stranger to God and the truths contained in his word. I feel it a duty as well as a privilege to give in my testimony in favor of the truth, and for the first time I address you, thinking perhaps it may encourage some one, to know that one more is seeking the truth as revealed in the word of God. I find that the word of God is very plain to those who read with prayerful attention, and it abounds with promises to those who keep his commandments and have the faith of Jesus; and I am striving to keep them all. God is light, and in him is no darkness at all; and I do rejoice for the light I have received. The desires of my heart are, Create in me a clean heart, O God, and enable me by thy grace to live in obedience to thy commands, for I choose to suffer reproach and the frowns of the world, if I may but be counted worthy to be of that number of whom it shall be said, Here are they that have kept the faith, and the commands of God. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.17
I have had an increasing desire to come out from the world and be separate, to seek for the inward adorning of the heart. I long to be filled with love and gratitude to God for all his mercies to me; and through his grace strengthening me, I hope to overcome all the evils that may befall me. There is great need to watch and pray, and guard against the vain allurements of the world, to pursue a course between the rocks on either hand, that we may gain the reward of the finally faithful, and enjoy the presence of our once crucified but now risen and exalted Saviour. Oh that the cry of my heart may ever be, Lord prepare me for that happy day when all the saints get home, when we shall be free from all the toils and troubles of mortal life. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.18
“Oh may my lot be cast with these,
Though least of Jesus’ witnesses.”
LYDIA I. SHAW.
Weathersfield, N. Y.
ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.19
From Sister Hibbard
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: As I am cheered weekly by your letters, shall I remain silent and not cast in my testimony on the side of truth? No; for we are commanded to improve on the talent that God has given us. I feel that it is a solemn and important time in which we live, and my desire and prayer is that I may know what the Lord would have me do, and then in the strength and fear of God perform it. We must not be idle; for the third angel is carrying forward his work. How thankful I feel that I have not been left to reject that message; but still I do not feel its sanctifying influence as I desire. I am striving to overcome everything that is sinful, that I may at last be found having on the wedding garment, without spot or wrinkle. I feel very unworthy, and many times I think that if I am a Christian I am the least of all. But I know that the promises of God are yea and amen to them that believe. Therefore though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. I am not ashamed to be called a Seventh-day Adventist, though some accuse me of worshiping the day, making a God of the day, etc. They do not see the importance there is in keeping it. They shut their eyes to the light that is now shining upon the word of God. But the Lord will accomplish his work, and cut it short in righteousness. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.20
B. M. HIBBARD.
East Wilson, N. Y.
OBITUARY
DIED of typhoid fever, in Polton, C. E., May 21, our beloved sister Howlet, wife of Bro. John Howlet, aged about 50 years. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.21
Bro. and sister Howlet were among those who received the Advent doctrine in 1843; and they gladly embraced the third angel’s message, under the labors of Bro. Pierce, in the summer of 1859. Sister H. has not been with us long; but she has truly been an honor to the cause of present truth. The truth was dearer to her than life. She was noted for her faith, zeal and experience. She always talked faith and courage, and was ever willing to bear responsibility, and fill her place in the church. She manifested patience, wisdom and earnestness in laboring for the salvation of her family, and had the privilege of seeing all her children give their hearts to the Lord. She left a kind husband and four children, who deeply feel their loss. But she sleeps in Jesus. The Lord witnessed her earnestness and labors of love, and she will have a rich reward. We made her a visit a few days before her death, and found her perfectly resigned to the will of God. She had a bright hope that sustained her through her sickness, and in the hour of death. The funeral sermon was preached by the writer, before a large congregation. Bro. Hutchins was present, and made comforting and appropriate remarks for the benefit of the mourners. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.22
“Asleep in Jesus! blessed sleep,
From which none ever wake to weep;
A calm and undisturbed repose,
Unbroken by the last of foes.
ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.23
“Asleep in Jesus! O, how sweet
To be for such a slumber meet!
With holy confidence to rest
In hope of being ever blest.
ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.24
“Asleep in Jesus! soon to rise,
When the last trump shall rend the skies;
Then burst the fetters of the tomb,
To wake in full, immortal bloom.”
D. T. BOURDEAU.
ARSH June 18, 1861, page 31.25
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, JUNE 18, 1861
SPECIAL NOTICE
CORRESPONDENTS will please give their names, Post Office, and State, plainly written. This is especially necessary when writing on business. As some do not see the necessity of this, we will explain for their benefit. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.1
The Post Office addresses of subscribers are arranged in alphabetical order on the list books. On the margin of the books opposite the name we keep every subscriber’s account. When a subscriber sends a remittance, we have to turn to his name on the books. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.2
But suppose he does not give us in his letter, in which he sends the remittance, his P. O. address. What then? If we are not personally acquainted with this subscriber, and do not by any means know his address, we have to take our books and search it up, from Maine to Minnesota, requiring from one to three hours’ time. Weeks of precious time are spent in this Office in such unpleasant searches in consequence of the egregious blunders of certain correspondents. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.3
We say again, Give your Post Office and State in every letter you address to this Office. If the name of your Post Office is not the name of your town, be sure and not mistake here, in giving your town instead of your Post Office. To show the necessity of the above explanations, we give the following from a correspondent who neglected to give his P. O. address: ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.4
“You ask where is my paper sent. This seems strange to me as you have sent it to me for two years, and on the wrapper of the paper in which you inquire you directed it to me all right. You may direct the rest in the same way.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.5
QUESTIONS
A QUESTION has arisen here regarding the distribution of the Systematic Benevolence funds. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.6
1. Does the church have a voice in the distribution of it? ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.7
2. And is it ever deemed expedient to use it in cases of want or suffering outside of the church. I am requested to inquire, If some of the brethren will please explain the matter through the Review, so that it may be understood. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.8
Yours in love of the truth. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.9
J. A. DAYTON.
Chesaning, Mich.
ANSWER
First question. We would recommend an appropriating committee of two or four, who, with the treasurer, could appropriate the funds of the church without consulting the whole church. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.10
Second question. We have never known any such case. The primary object of Systematic Benevolence was the support of the cause of the third message. The spiritual wants of the world are a thousand fold more than their temporal wants. The laws of our country provide for the temporal wants of the suffering, but not for their spiritual wants. In a few cases we have known poor brethren helped from this fund. But these cases should be extremely urgent, however, to call funds from the Lord’s treasury, which have been devoted to sustain those who break the bread of life to those starving for spiritual food. There are but very few persons in our country, if they should labor as actively with their hands as our traveling preachers do in their calling, who cannot fully sustain themselves. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.11
AN INQUIRY
C. M. Shepard inquires “if it is a Bible doctrine that we cannot find forgiveness of God for our sins unless we confess them to our fellow men.” ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.12
ANSWER. We think it is. But we would suggest the following distinction: ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.13
1. Secret sins, which stand only between the offender and the Law-giver, should be confessed in secret to God. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.14
2. Open sins, or sins committed against our fellows, or which have injured those around us, should be confessed to God, and as openly, and as widely, as the influence of the sin extends among our fellow men. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.15
We will give the following texts on the subject of confession. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.16
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another that ye may be healed.” James 5:16. The healing in this verse refers to healing the wounds made by faults and sins. Healing of sickness is the subject of verses 14, 15. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.17
“If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.18
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13. See also Leviticus 5:5: John 3:5, 6: Luke 15:18-21; 17:3, 4; Matthew 5:23, 24, and a multitude of other texts. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.19
MICHIGAN TENT
THERE will be a tent conference at Greenville, Montcalm Co., Mich., to commence July 5th, at sunset. Bro. and Sr. White may be expected at this meeting. They design to hold two or three such conferences in Northern Michigan in July. A general attendance is expected. Elders Joseph Bates and B. F. Robbins are especially invited. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.20
Every Christian is a Caleb; he hath another spirit in him, which is a holy, humble, self-crucifying, God-glorifying spirit: therefore he follows the Lord fully. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.21
Business Department
Business Notes
J. Iden: We have found J. C. Brown’s address and placed the $1,00 you sent, to his credit. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.22
D. C. Elmer: Your letter of May 12, containing $1, and your letter of June 5 inquiring about the same, reached us by the same mail. What occasioned the delay of the former we cannot say. The $5 sent previously was received, and you will find it receipted in the last No. of last Vol. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.23
H. Burdick: Where is your paper sent? ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.24
Jno. Barrows: We make L. Loop’s receipt right in this number; and send Bible as pr. order. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.25
J. P. Lewis: As your INSTRUCTOR is already paid to the middle of Vol. xi, we apply the whole of your remittance on REVIEW. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.26
W. H. C. Michael, Millersburg, Iowa: We send you the books you order, but have not the others you mention, on hand for sale. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.27
T. B. jr.: You had better obtain a draft on New York or Boston. If there is no bank near you, wait till you can hand the money to some brother who can put it into a draft, and send it to the Office. As we shall probably be from home most of the summer, drafts should be made payable to Uriah Smith. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.28
E. M. Lewis: Your indebtedness for INSTRUCTOR was 17 cts. If marked 67 cts. it was a mistake. We credit you with 25 cts., which pays to Vol. x, No. 4. We find but $2 credited to you on book for REVIEW, extending from Vol. xv, No. 10, to xvii,10. At what date did you send your last remittance? ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.29
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 June 18, 1861, page 32.30
C. C. Spear 1,00,xviii,1. Chas. Davis 2,00,xvi,1. S. O. Hitchcock 2,00,xix,1. G. M. Burnett 0,50,xix,1. W. Holden 1,00,xix,1. W. Holden (for S. Holden) 0,50,xviii,1. D. C. Elmer 1,00,xix,1. J. H. Lonsdale 1,00,xix,1. R. Hicks 1,00,xix,1. R. Hicks (for C. N. Hicks 0,50,xix,1. Mary Hale 1,00,xx,1. Adaline Lamb 2,00,xx,1. J. G. Whipple 1,00,xix,1. M. T. Olds 1,00,xix,1. Jefferson Laughhead 1,00,xix,1. J. Laughhead (for A. Blakeman) 0,50,xix,1. Jno. Loop 1,00,xix,11. L. Brooks 1,00,xix,1. Jno. W. Stewart 2,50,xx,1. S. Adams 0,78,xviii,1. L. Kellogg 1,00,xix,1. A. Drew 0,50,xix,1. J. P. Lewis 3,50,xix,14. E. P. Gibbs 1,00,xix,1. O. Randolph 1,00,xix,4. J. S. Wick 0,65,xix,16. Nancy Hiddleson 1,00,xvii,1. S. Newton (for Wm. Raymond) 0,50,xix,1. J. H, Rogers 1,00,xviii,20. J. Spangler 1,00,xviii,18. H. Hill 0,25,xviii,18. S. Brigham (for G. A. Brigham) 1,00,xx,1. A. S. King 2,00,xix,1. J. W. Marsh 1,75,xviii,19. A. P. Patten 1,75,xviii,13. M. Leonard 3,50,xvii,20. Ch. in Parkville, Mich. (for A. Olmstead) 1,00,xx,1. Wm. Langdon 0,75,xviii,19. R. T. Payne 1,00,xx,1. L. Graves 2,00,xix,1. D. R. Palmer 3,00,xx,1. W. Bedient 0,80,xix,1. Lucia Morris 0,48,xix,14. Caleb S. Clarke 1,00,xvii,14. P. Dickinson 3,00,xix,1. Isaac O. Thompson 0,50,xviii,19. David Stowe 1,00,xviii,1. S. C. Corey 1,00,xix,10. L. H. Priest 1,50,xviii,14. Enos Bartlett 2,00,xix,1. A. J. Emmons 1,50,xx,17. E. M. Davis (for Benj. Overton 0,50,xviii,23; and Edward Williams 0,25,xviii,10.) ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.31
FOR MISSIONARY PURPOSES. Robt. Sawyer $1,71. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.32
PUBLICATIONS
| The New Hymn Book, containing 464 pages, and 122 pieces of music, | 80 cts. | ||
| Christian Baptism, by B. F. Snook, | 15 ” | ||
| Sabbath Tracts, Nos. 1-4. This work presents a condensed view of the entire Sabbath question, | 15 ” | ||
| The Three Angels of Revelation 14:6-12, particularly the Third Angel’s Message, and the Two-horned Beast, | 15 ” | ||
| Hope of the Gospel, or immortality the gift of God, | 15 ” | ||
| Which? Mortal or Immortal? or an inquiry into the present constitution and future condition of man, | 15 ” | ||
| Modern Spiritualism; its Nature and Tendency. This book should be in the hands of every family, as a warning against Spiritualism, | 15 ” | ||
| The Kingdom of God. A refutation of the doctrine called Age-to-Come, | 15 ” | ||
| Pauline Theology, or the christian Doctrine of Future Punishment, as taught in the epistles of Paul, | 15 ” | ||
| The Atonement, | 15 ” | ||
| Prophecy of Daniel. The Four Universal Kingdoms, The Sanctuary and Twenty-three Hundred Days, | 10 ” | ||
| The Saints’ Inheritance. The Immortal Kingdom located on the New Earth, | 10 ” | ||
| Signs of the Times, showing that the Second coming of Christ is at the Door, | 10 ” | ||
| Law of God. The testimony of both Testaments, showing its origin and perpetuity, | 10 ” | ||
| Vindication of the true Sabbath, by J. W. Morton, late Missionary to Hayti, | 10 ” | ||
| Review of Springer on the Sabbath, Law of God and first day of the week, | 10 ” | ||
| Facts for the Times. Extracts from the writings of eminent authors ancient and Modern, | 10 ” | ||
| Miscellany. Seven tracts in one book on the Second Advent and the Sabbath, | 10 ” | ||
| The Seven Trumpets, The Sounding of the Seven Trumpets of Revelation 8 and 9, | 10 ” | ||
| Assistant. The Bible Student’s Assistant or a compend of Scripture references, | 5 ” | ||
| Nature and Obligation of the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment - Apostasy and Perils of the Last Days, | 5 ” | ||
| Truth Found. A Short Argument for the Sabbath with an appendix, “The Sabbath not a Type,“ | 5 ” | ||
| An Appeal for the restoration of the Bible Sabbath in an Address to the Baptists, | 5 ” | ||
| Review of Crozier on the Institution, Design and Abolition of the Seventh-day Sabbath, | 5 ” | ||
| Review of Fillio. A reply to a series of discourses delivered by him in Battle Creek on the Sabbath question, | 5 ” | ||
| The Fate of the Transgressor, or a Short Argument on the First and Second Deaths, | 5 ” | ||
| Brown’s Experience in relation to Entire Consecration and the Second Advent, | 5 ” | ||
| Report of General Conference held in Battle Creek, June 3-6, Address on Systematic Benevolence, etc. | 5 ” | ||
| Sabbath Poem. A Word for the Sabbath, or False Theories Exposed, | 5 ” | ||
| Illustrated Review. A Double Number of the REVIEW AND HERALD illustrated, | 5 ” | ||
| Spiritual Gifts Vol. 1, or the Great Controversy between Christ and his angels, and Satan and his angels, | 50 ” | ||
| Spiritual Gifts Vol. 2. Experience, Views and Incidents in connection with the Third Message, | 50 ” | Scripture Doctrine of future punishment. An Argument by H. H. Dobney, Baptist Minister of England, | 75 ” |
| Debt and Grace as related to the Doctrine of Future Punishment, by C. F. Hudson, | 100 ” | ||
| Voice of the Church on the Coming and Kingdom of the Redeemer. A History of the doctrine, | 100 ” |
PENNY TRACTS. Who Changed the Sabbath? - Unity of the Church - Spiritual Gifts - Judson’s Letter on Dress - Law of God, by Dobney (2 cts.) - Law of God by Wesley - Appeal to men of reason on Immortality - Much in Little - Truth - Death and Burial - Preach the Word. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.33
These small Tracts can be sent, post-paid, in packages of not less than twenty-five. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.34
Home Here and Home in Heaven, with other poems. This work embraces all those sweet and Scriptural poems written by Annie R. Smith, from the time she embraced the third message till she fell asleep in Jesus. Price 25 cents. In paper covers, 20 cents. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.35
The Chart. A Pictorial Illustration of the Visions of Daniel and John 20 by 25 inches. Price 15 cts. On rollers, post-paid, 75 cts. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.36
German. Das Wesen des Sabbaths und unsere Verpflichtung auf ihn nach dem Vierten Gebote. A Tract of 80 pp., a Translation of Nature and Obligation of the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment. Price 10 cents. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.37
Holland. De Natuur en Verbinding van den Sabbath volgens het Vierde Gebodt. Translated from the same as the German. Price 10 cents. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.38
French. Le Sabbat de la Bible. A Tract on the Sabbath of 32pp. Price 5 cents. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.39
La Grande Statue de Daniel II, et les Quatre Betes Symboliques, et quelques remarques sur la Seconde Venue de Christ, et sur le Cinquieme Royaume Universel. A Tract of 32 pp. on the Prophecies. Price 5 cents. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.40
These publications will be sent by mail, post-paid, at their respective prices. When ordered by the quantity, not less than $5 worth, one-third will be deducted from these prices on Pamphlets and Tracts, and one-fourth on bound Books. In this case postage added, if sent by mail. Orders, to insure attention, must be accompanied with the cash, unless special arrangements be made. Address Elder JAMES WHITE, Battle Creek, Michigan. ARSH June 18, 1861, page 32.41