Advent Review, and Sabbath Herald, vol. 17
March 19, 1861
RH VOL. XVII. - BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, - NO. 18
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. XVII. - BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, MARCH 19, 1861. - NO. 18.
The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald
is published weekly, at One Dollar a Volume of 26 Nos. in advance.
J. P. KELLOGG, CYRENIUS SMITH AND D. R. PALMER,
Publishing Committee.
Uriah Smith, Resident Editor.J. N. Andrews, James White, J. H. Waggoner, R. F. Cottrell, and Stephen Pierce, Corresponding Editors.Address REVIEW AND HERALD Battle Creek, Mich.
ZOAR
BY MRS. SIGOURNEY.
Look not behind, neither stay in all the plain. Genesis 19:17. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.1
LOOK not behind! you’ve broken the chain
That bound to folly and despair;
Press onward to the glorious land,
Nor falter till you enter there.
ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.2
Look not behind! unnumbered snares
Are for the loitering Christian spread;
False hopes, strong habits, wild desires,
And ruin’s pitfalls dark and dread.
ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.3
Look not behind! a blighting curse
Was hers who paused at Sodom’s bound;
She, lingering, loved those haunts of sin,
And fearful retribution found.
ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.4
Look not behind! ‘tis Satan’s lure
To tempt you to his realm again;
The guiding angel bids you haste,
And tarry not in all the plain.
ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.5
Escape for life! the flames of wrath Are reddening on the winged wind; See Zoar’s sacred refuge nigh - Look not behind! - look not behind! ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.6
INFIDEL OBJECTIONS
(Concluded.) ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.7
Objection 5. “It can be proved by mathematical calculation, that there is not water enough in the world for a general deluge; and therefore the account which is given in the Bible of such a deluge is a fable, and the book which contains such fables is not worthy of any credit.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.8
Answer. 1. It is difficult to know how to reply to a man who has such a crooked mind as to think that he who made all worlds, and holds the ocean in his hand, is unable to roll a flood of waters over this little globe. The God of the deist must be impotent indeed, if he cannot make a flood of any dimensions to suit his purposes. The God of the Christian is all powerful, there is nothing which he cannot do. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.9
2. But even this frivolous assertion is not to be assented to as true. Nearly three-fourths of the whole surface of the globe are now covered with water, and it is not so easy to prove that the comparatively small portion of land may not sink and be inundated by the deep. Bold assertions are not arguments. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.10
3. The fact of a deluge is almost universally asserted by geologists. The present appearance of the rocks and mountains and caverns of the earth, irresistibly proves that it must have been at some former period covered with water. This is now admitted by every distinguished geologist, whether he be friend or foe to the christian cause. The wreck and ruin everywhere visible upon the surface of our planet, have satisfied every careful observer that wild floods and rushing torrents have swept over the globe. Thus does science give her testimony to the truth of revelation. Skeletons of whales have been found upon the sides of high mountains far from the ocean. The remains of animals which can live only in the torrid zone, are found far away in the frigid regions of the north, showing that they must have been borne there by the mighty rush of waters. Immense forests are found many feet beneath the surface of the earth, indisputably proving that the action of the water must have washed them down and covered them with earth. And there are evidences still more striking in the position of the various strata of which this earth is composed. The fact that there has been a deluge is written in living characters upon the face of nature. Blot out the record from the Bible, and still the evidence remains indisputable. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.11
Objection 6. “Noah’s ark, as described in the Bible, was not large enough to contain one half of the animals for which it was intended.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.12
Answer. By an accurate measurement, taken from the proportions given by Moses, it is ascertained that the ark was about as large as eighteen of the largest ships of the present day. The distinct species of four-footed animals, known, amount to but about two hundred and fifty. These eighteen ships will carry twenty thousand men, with eighteen hundred pieces of cannon, and provisions for six months. Who then can for a moment doubt that the ark, built not for speed nor for beauty, but merely for buoyancy and strength, would afford accommodations for these two hundred and fifty pairs of quadrupeds, with the specified number of birds and insects, and eight human beings, with provisions for a year? It seems almost like trifling to answer such arguments, and yet deists are scattering them about among the ignorant and the credulous as powerful objections to the credibility of the Scriptures. The fact is, as stated by bishop Wilkins, “that of the two, it is more difficult to assign a number and bulk of necessary things to answer to the capacity of the ark than to find sufficient room for the several species of animals, and their food, already known to have been there.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.13
There is one very interesting fact in this connection, deserving of notice. “It can be proved to demonstration, that the proportion of the length to the breadth, and of both to the height, in Noah’s ark, is exactly that which renders any substance most buoyant, and the most perfectly secure even in a storm.” Now it is a question really deserving of thought, how did Noah obtain such skill in architectural dimensions? It has been the result of long experience and careful observation, by which architects of the present day have obtained this knowledge. It did not come to them intuitively. How then did it happen that Noah, far back in the infancy of the world, was so accomplished a ship-builder? It is not an easy question for the deist to answer. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.14
Objection 7. “The Israelites were ordered to wage exterminating war against the Canaanites. They were to show no mercy, they were to feel no compassion. Neither helpless age nor innocent infancy were to be spared. Men, women and children were to be exterminated by indiscriminate massacre. Is it possible to believe that God would issue such a command - that he would commission one nation to carry fire and blood to the habitation of another?” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.15
Answer. 1. May not God use any instruments he pleases in the execution of his judgments? God poured an ocean of burning lava on Herculaneum and Pompeii. He spared neither age nor infancy, neither mother nor babe. All were overwhelmed in indiscriminate destruction. He shook the foundations of the earth, and opened one wide grave, in which was swallowed Lisbon, with her thousands of inhabitants. He sends pestilence and famine to desolate a city and a nation. Neither women nor children are spared. For hours and days they cry in the protracted agony of incurable disease. And are the horrors of war more fearful? May not God with as much propriety deliver up an abandoned city to the horrors of war as to the ocean of liquid fire, or the earthquake, or the all-devouring famine, or the dreadful plague? They who urge this objection, seem to be perfectly unconscious that it is just as powerful against the God of nature as against the God of revelation. In point of fact, God is continually sending judgments which spare neither age nor sex, neither female helplessness, nor unoffending infancy. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.16
2. It is represented in the Bible, that on a certain occasion God found it to be necessary to check the pride and presumption of the Israelites by sending upon them deserved punishment. A judgment was to be sent sufficiently appalling to produce an impression upon their obdurate hearts. The choice was therefore offered to David, between seven years famine, three months of exposure to conquering enemies, and three days of pestilence. Now, is the sending of the horrors of war a greater impeachment of the divine justice, than sending the famine or pestilence? The deist says, God may send the famine - he may send the pestilence - but he must not send the sword. How perfectly childish such a distinction! And what arrogant presumption, for a man to sit in judgment upon the instruments which God may use in the execution of his will! ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.17
3. Is it asked, why did God desire the extermination of the Canaanites? We reply, why did he desire the destruction of Herculaneum and Pompeii? Why does he roll the cloud of pestilence over Barbary and Turkey? Why does he suffer a third part of the human race annually to die in infancy? This asking of questions is easy work, and when the deist has answered one half of those which are continually arising before the thinking mind he may begin to expect that perhaps the human mind will eventually be able to answer all. Even if we could see no reason why God should desire the extermination of the Canaanites, the occurrence would be burdened with no greater difficulties than everywhere meet us as we look upon the universally admitted acts of God. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.18
4. But we can see a reason why God should desire the destruction of the Canaanites. They were abandoned to the most polluting idolatry. They were celebrating their degrading rites, with deeds of impurity and crime of the most revolting character. Will the deist say that it was criminal for God to exterminate such a race? Will he say that it was expedient to expose the Israelites to the temptation of their sensual rites, or to the attacks of such a savage race? He must indeed be sorely pressed for an answer, to assert this. If God had swallowed them up by an earthquake, or rolled the waves of the Mediterranean over their habitations, or rained upon them the fires of heaven, destroying age and infancy together, all objection would be silenced. It seems, then, the only difficulty is, that God should have made use of the instrumentality of man in executing his judgments. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 137.19
5. Why, then, the infidel asks, admitting that it was right that they should be exterminated, was it not done in some other way? Why not send pestilence or famine, rather than excite the passions of man, and deliver them over to the fury of the sword? Even here God has so unfolded to us the circumstances, as to furnish us with a conclusive answer. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.1
The great object God had in view, in his dealings with the children of Israel, was to preserve them from the sin of idolatry, and to confirm them in the true religion. This object is to be seen in many of the otherwise unmeaning ceremonies of the Mosaic law. Now, what could produce upon the mind of a Jew such a deep conviction of God’s utter abhorrence of idolatry, as to be himself the commissioned executor of the divine judgment? God did not send the pestilence, or the famine, or the flood. They would have produced but a comparatively trifling impression. He said to the Israelites, “Go, and exterminate that abandoned nation. Spare neither age nor sex. Purify the earth from the polluted race of idolaters with which it is now deformed.” Can the ingenuity of man devise a measure more effectually calculated to produce the impression desired? Think you that the Israelite, as he passed through these awful scenes of fiery judgment did not feel more deeply than he ever felt before the danger of incurring the displeasure of God? As he saw the armies of God prosecuting their work of extermination from village to village, destroying root and branch, and every vestige of idolatry, think you he could easily be guilty of the same sin, and expose himself to the same awful judgment? The very measure adopted, bears the impress of the hand of that God who is wise in council, and fearful in judgment. In fact, no one can look at the measure, in all its bearings, without seeing that it was dictated by infinite wisdom. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.2
The objection of the deist, then, is simply this, either, ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.3
1. God has no right to exterminate an abandoned nation in any way, either by flood, or pestilence, or famine, or sword. Or, ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.4
2. He has no right to exterminate them in that way which will produce the deepest impression of the enormity of sin upon the minds of those that remain. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.5
The man who will attempt to defend either of these positions, is beyond the reach of argument. The man who has sufficient candor to admit that neither of them is defensible, must also admit that this much vaunted objection of the deist is completely overthrown. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.6
Will any one say, that if God can wage exterminating war with his enemies, and deliver them over to the sword, man may do the same, and, uncommissioned of God, take the sword into his hand? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.7
And is it so? May man do what God does? God sends disease, and takes away my neighbor’s life. May I therefore poison my neighbor? God sends the lightning and burns my neighbor’s dwelling. May I therefore kindle the flame of midnight conflagration? These are the frivolous cavils that the deists of the present day are putting forth as arguments which demand refutation. And they are received as arguments only by the giddy who are wedded to worldly pleasure, by the ignorant who are sunk in degraded sin, and the unreflecting who are in chase of the honors and opulence of the world. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.8
Our rulers have authority from God under certain circumstances, to take away life, and leave a family in a situation worse than death. They are thus, as Moses was, the executors of the divine will, and are they therefore murderers? Does it impeach the divine goodness? Why then was Moses a murderer? Why did his conduct impeach the divine goodness? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.9
The destruction of the Canaanites showed the Jews how powerless were the gods on whom the heathen relied, and impressed upon their minds the power of Jehovah, the God of Israel. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.10
Objection 8. “David was a murderer and an adulterer. The catalogue of human crimes can hardly afford one of greater atrocity than his conduct in the affair of Uriah; and yet he is represented in the Bible as a man after God’s own heart.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.11
Answer. 1. The Bible condemns his sin as severely as it can be condemned by any one. The plain truth is stated, that David was guilty of such a crime, and it is spoken of in terms of the most unmeasured abhorrence. God sent a prophet to David with a special message of condemnation. He punished David for the crime with great severity. “Because,” said the prophet, “by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.” 1. Your beloved child shall die. 2. For the remainder of life you shall not have one moment of domestic peace, but shall suffer as severely as man can suffer from domestic sorrows. 3. You shall have no more peace upon the throne. Bereaved of your child, and harrassed for the remainder of your days with domestic discord and political disasters, you shall drag out a melancholy existence. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.12
This was the sentence God sent the prophet to pass upon David; and this is the occurrence the deist quotes to prove that the God of the Bible countenances sin. Is this palliating sin? Is this passing it by as a slight occurrence? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.13
What is the objection of the deist? It is, that notwithstanding this sin, God regarded David with approbation. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.14
And what is the answer? It is, that God regarded his sin with the utmost abhorrence, and that for it David suffered to the very last hour of his life. He did not in this respect regard David with approbation. He was approved only for those things in which he did justly, and loved mercy, and walked humbly with God. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.15
Even David himself does not attempt to palliate the sin. He acknowledges the righteousness of God’s judgment. He condemns himself in language of the most abject humility and the deepest penitence. Read the fifty-first psalm, which he wrote in reference to this transaction. How heart-rending his penitence. How is he overwhelmed with self-loathing and self-abhorrence. “Have mercy upon me, O God,” he cries, “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is ever before me. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.” These were the confessions which David made; the feelings with which he was oppressed. And yet, strange to tell - almost incredible to believe, this is the transaction which the deist quotes to prove that the God of the Bible encourages adultery and murder. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.16
Why did the writers of the Bible record this sin of David? They must have been very honest men, to give such an impartial statement of the vices as well as the virtues of those whose lives they describe. The historian surely knew, for he declares “that the deed would give great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.” Why then did he place this deed upon record, to be handed down through all coming time, to furnish occasion of scorn to the enemies of religion? The historian might have been silent upon this point. He might have recorded only the virtues of David. But without one word of palliation or extenuation, he records this sin in all its atrocity. And these are the writers who, the deist thinks, are trying to impose upon the world; men who are so honest that they state the whole truth, without asking whether it will strengthen the believer, or furnish arguments to the infidel. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.17
This affair of David taken in all its circumstances, is a strong evidence of the truth of religion. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.18
1. It shows the inflexible impartiality of the sacred writers. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.19
2. It shows God’s utter abhorrence of David’s sin, and the awful judgments with which he visits sin. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.20
3. It shows the nature of genuine repentance with all its heart-rending agony, and the consolation which religion can afford to the penitent soul, burdened with the consciousness and enduring the awful consequences of guilt. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.21
Objection 9. “The prayers of David are dictated by a spirit of most bitter revenge. Instead of forgiving his enemies, and praying that God would bless them, he imprecates vengeance upon their heads, and even pronounces a benediction upon those who shall dash their children against the stones. And yet it is said in the Bible that these prayers are dictated by the Holy Spirit.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.22
Answer. “Suppose there is a horrid murder committed in our neighborhood. The axe and the knife of robbers have covered the floor of our friend’s dwelling with the mangled corpses of the family. The Christian, appalled by the horrid spectacle, in the fervor of his morning prayer, says, O God, bring these guilty men to justice; O let them not escape; let swift retribution overtake them; let them suffer the just punishment for their crime, that the honor of our laws may be preserved, and that terror may fill the hearts of the wicked.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.23
While thus praying, the infidel cries out, “What a revengeful wretch this man must be. Instead of praying that these murderers may escape and be prospered, he prays that the unhappy men may be caught and hung; and yet the man pretends that he is a Christian.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.24
And does the infidel really think that David, the king of Israel ought not to pray that the laws should be honored, that the community should be protected, that the violators of law should be punished. Does he really think that it is wicked to pray that those who are scattering firebrands, arrows, and death through the community, may be shut up in prison; may be punished with all the rigor which wholesome laws enjoin? If he does think so, he must think that all law is malignity, and all penalty revenge. Perhaps he does think so; for he most pertinaciously asserts that God must be cruel to threaten transgressors with punishment - that is, to make laws; and that he must be malignant and revengeful to execute the penalty - that is, to shut up the wicked in the prison of hell. No wonder he is unwilling honestly to sit down to the study of the Bible. If he comes to the light, he will see the truth, and his deeds will be reproved. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.25
Such are some of the most plausible and most popular of the arguments urged by infidels at the present day. And there are not a few who are persuaded by such arguments to renounce the hopes and consolations and restraints of Christianity. I cannot find it in my heart to speak of such in any other spirit than that of sorrow. They are depriving themselves of that which magnifies every earthly joy, and alleviates every earthly sorrow; which promotes peace on earth, and good will among men; which sustains in sickness, and gives triumph in the hour of death. Yes, we mourn for the unhappy infidel. - Abbot’s Magazine. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.26
A Future Judgment
THE common sentiment of mankind has always regarded a future retribution as something required by reason, in order to reconcile the facts of human life with the justice of God. No feature of our condition in this world has more generally arrested the attention of the thoughtful observer of human life, than the obvious want of correspondence between the character of individuals, and the awards of divine providence towards them. It is true that the inequalities of our condition are sometimes exaggerated by superficial observers. Outward prosperity does not necessarily imply inward happiness, nor outward adversity the absence of it. But one of the chief reasons why the relative happiness of different men cannot be inferred merely from their external circumstances, is, this instinctive anticipation of a retribution to come, which is a terror to the prosperous sinner, and a support to the suffering saint. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 138.27
Remove this anticipation, and the inequality would be vastly greater than it is. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.1
But in spite of this qualifying consideration, it is still great and potent. David observed it in his day. Jeremiah was so struck by it that he could not refrain from expostulating with God as it were, yet with reverence and acquiescence. “Righteous art thou, O Lord when I plead with thee, yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments, wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? Wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?” Our Lord himself admitted it when he represented Abraham as saying to Dives, “Son, remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and thou art tormented.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.2
But it is not needful to lay any great stress on this argument to prove a future judgment. The scripture testimony on the subject is copious and decisive. The references to the judgment in the Bible cannot be explained in the theory that God’s retributive justice has its complete exhibition in this world. The judgment is habitually spoken of in the future tense. It is expressly connected with the second coming of Christ. “Judge nothing before the time,” says the apostle Paul, “until the Lord come.” “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body.” If the judgment day begun at his advent and has continued ever since, how does he say, “I came not to judge the world?” How does Peter say that “the earth which is now, is reserved against the day of judgment?” How was it that Paul reasoned before Felix of “a judgment to come?” How is it that he speaks so emphatically of “that day,” and always as of something future? And how shall we understand the parable of our Lord, in which he likens the kingdom of heaven to a man travelling to a far country, who calls his servants, assigns them their duties, departs on his journey, and after a long time cometh and reckoneth with them? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.3
Costly but Precious
STANDING before a magnificent picture not long since we were told that it had been purchased for $15,000! At first mention the price seemed enormous; but when we recalled the fact that the peerless landscape before us had required months of toil by the most celebrated artist of the land - that in order to make the necessary studies he had doomed himself to the perils and hardships of a distant dangerous clime - then we did not wonder that a millionaire should deem it but just to barter away his own thousands for the companionship of such a picture in his drawing-room. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.4
There are sometimes rare and beautiful wares brought into the market, that are invoiced at almost fabulous rates. The simple reason is that they cost so much to procure. That luxurious ermine labeled $500, cost terrible battles with polar ice and hurricanes. The pearl that flashes on the brow of the bride is precious because it was rescued from the great deep at the risk of the pearl-fisher’s life, as he was lifted into the boat half dead, with the blood gushing from his nostrils. All choicest things are reckoned the dearest. So it is in heaven’s inventories too. The universe of God has never witnessed aught to be reckoned in comparison with the redemption of a guilty world. That mighty ransom no such contemptible things as silver and gold could procure. Only by one price could the church be redeemed from hell, and that was the price of Jesus’ blood - the precious blood of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.5
And so is it that the best part of the Christian character is that which was procured at the sorest cost. Patience is a beautiful trait, but it is not worn oftenest by those who walk on life’s sunny side in silver slippers. It is the product of dark nights, of tempests, and of days of adversity, whose high noon is gloomy as midnight; for the trial of our faith worketh patience. Purity of character is often costly, too; more than once it has been bought in wicked cities by the bitter price of a crust of bread eaten with a good conscience in an attic, when a guilty connivance would have been rewarded with French santis and a harlot’s sumptuous couch. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.6
As God reckons jewelry, there is no brilliant which flashes with such luster as the tear of true penitence. Yet God only knoweth what heart pressure as in a vice, what rendings and wringings of soul, what crushings of pride and wrestlings in agony may have been needful, in order to press out that jewel-drop upon the cheek of the stubborn sufferer. We have sometimes met a person in social circles who possessed a peculiar gentleness and docility of character. As we came to know her better, we were charmed by her calm self poise, and her heroic submissiveness to God under sudden shocks of calamity. We could not but admire so beautiful a character. We envied its possessor. We coveted such a spirit for ourselves. Ah! we little knew at what fearful price of severe chastisement and bitter disappointment - of hopes desolated, and expectations crossed; of faith put to the rack, and patience burned bright in seven times heated furnaces - all that meek loveliness of character had been gained. So true is it that he who would be “rich towards God” must be willing to toil hard and bear sore affliction, in order to win the precious acquisitions. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.7
To be a complete, symmetrical Christian, all these graces of patience, purity, meekness, long-suffering, and godliness must be attained. We must pray for them; we must toil for them; we must suffer for them. He is a meager, half-ripe, unfinished Christian, who does not possess those peculiar graces which God only sends to us through suffering, privation and trial. Let us not draw back from the possession of any spiritual treasure, through the dread of paying dearly for it. Precious things are always costly. The merchant withholds no extra labor, or extra hours of thought over his ledgers, if thereby he can secure an extra return of profits. The sculptor counts not long months wasted away which see him with hammer and chisel pursuing the imprisoned “Hercules,” or “Greek slave,” which his keen eye detects within the block of marble. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.8
What are hardships and privations on Labrador ice fields, or amid Grandean mountains, to Frederick Church, as long as he is transferring those very icebergs to his canvas, and rearing in the “heart of the Andes,” a new monument to his imperishable fame? If the children of the light were always as eager for holiness and beauty of character as the children of this world are for gold, and fame, and honors, they would not begrudge the toils or the trials necessary to secure them. Precious graces are always costly; happy is he who “buys and sells not again.” - Chris. Intel. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.9
A LAMENTABLE FACT. - The Brighton (England) Herald says that Spiritualism, instead of losing ground in England, is flourishing and vigorous, not only among the ignorant and insane, but among men of repute, who might fairly be looked on as superior as to any trickery so barefaced and wicked. At this moment there are several literary circles in London who are lending their aid to the spread of the delusion, and we could name more than one man who is a decided victim to it. Sittings are frequent in the best circles; mediums are tolerated in the highest quarters; and even the church does not fail to add its quota to the herd of the misguided and the deluded. Among the recent converts are Lord Lyndhurst, Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, Robert Chambers, Mrs. Browning, and many other literary and scientific celebrities. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.10
HISTORY OF THOUSANDS. - Thousands of men breathe, move, and live, pass off the stage of life, and are heard of no more. Why? They do not a particle of good in the world, and none are blessed by them; none could point to them as the instruments of their redemption; not a word they spoke could be recalled, and so they perished, their light went out in darkness, and they were not remembered more than the insect of yesterday. Will you thus live and die? Live for something. Do good, and leave behind you a monument of virtue that the storm of time can never destroy. Write your name in kindness, and love, and mercy, on the hearts of thousands you come in contact with year by year; you will never be forgotten. No; you name, your deeds, will be as legible on the hearts you leave behind as the stars on the brow of evening. Good deeds will shine as the stars of heaven. - Dr. Chalmers. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.11
TRIALS PRODUCTIVE OF GOOD. - I remember, says Mr. Whitefield, some years ago, when I was at Shields, I went into a glass house; and standing very attentive, I saw several masses of burning glass, of various forms. The workmen took a piece of glass and put it into one furnace, then he put it into a second, and then into a third. I said to him: ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.12
“Why do you pass this through so many fires?” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.13
He answered, “Oh, sir, the first was not hot enough, nor the second, and therefore we put it into a third, and that will make it transparent.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.14
This furnished Mr. W. with a useful hint, that we must be tried, and exercised with many fires, until our dross be purged away, and we are made fit for the owner’s use. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.15
LITTLE CROSSES. - As a general thing, it may be expected that all Christians will find themselves able to bear the great crosses of life, because they come with observation; they attract notice by their very magnitude, and by putting the soul on its guard, give it strength to meet them. But happy, thrice happy, is he who can bear the little crosses which ever lie in wait, and which attack us secretly, and without giving warning, like a thief in the night. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.16
Constant Employment
THE man who is obliged to be constantly employed to earn the necessaries of life and support his family, knows not the unhappiness he prays for when he desires wealth and idleness. To be constantly busy is to be always happy. Persons who have suddenly acquired wealth, broken up their active pursuits, and begun to live at their ease, waste away and die in a very short time. Thousands would have been blessings to the world, and added to the common stock of happiness, if they had been content to remain in an humble sphere, and earned every mouthful of food that nourished their bodies. But, no; fashion and wealth took possession of them, and they were completely ruined. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.17
They run away from peace and pleasure, and embrace a lingering death. Ye who are sighing for the pomp and splendor of life, beware! Ye know not what ye wish. No situation, however exalted; no wealth, however magnificent; no honors, however glorious, can yield you solid enjoyment while discontent lurks in your bosom. The secret of happiness lies in this - to be always contented with your lot, and never sigh for the splendor of riches, or the magnificence of fashion and power. Persons who are always busy and go cheerfully to their daily tasks, are the least disturbed by the fluctuations of business, and at night sleep with perfect composure. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 139.18
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
“Sanctify them through thy TRUTH; thy word is truth.”
BATTLE CREEK, MICH, THIRD-DAY, MARCH 19, 1861.
WITH YOU ALWAYS
“Lo I am with you always,” says Christ, “even to the end of the world.” Matthew 28:20. Like every other promise, this, too, rests upon conditions. He does not promise to be with every one; nor with those with whom he has once been, if they persist in leaving and departing from him. He promises to be with no one in wickedness and sin. He will be with us only so long as we will be with him. Christ does not leave his people: they leave him. The rule is plainly laid down in John 14:23: “Jesus answered and said unto him, If any man love me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” Again, chap 15:7: “If ye abide in me and my words abide in you,” etc. Such are the ones he has promised to be with even to the end of the world. Reader, are you fulfilling these conditions? If so, rejoice in the consolation afforded you in this precious promise. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.1
But who is this who promises to be with you? It is he to whom is given all power in heaven and earth, who is exalted to the right hand of the throne of the majesty on high. It is he who now ministers in the Sanctuary as the advocate to whom alone is committed the interests of a perishing world; he who knows all our weaknesses, sorrows, motives, hopes, and fears; he who can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities; he who has said, My grace is sufficient for thee, be of cheer, I have overcome the world; he who knows what help we most need, and just when to afford it; he who is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto him; he who has said, Ask and ye shall receive; and who will at last clothe this corruptible frame with incorruption, fashioning it like unto his most glorious body. Who then is he who can estimate the wealth of the promise which gives us the companionship of such a being as this? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.2
But when will this exalted guest be with us? Is it only at some favored intervals? Will he not perhaps be far away when most we need him? And how shall we obtain his help in sudden emergencies. He says, I am with you always - yes, always. There is no time when Christ places himself beyond the reach of his people. Israel’s Keeper slumbers not nor sleeps. And more than this, no power on earth can separate us from his love and presence. The world may turn coldly away, and friends may forsake; be not disconsolate; for the Lord does not leave you on that account: he is with you still. Trials and perils may surround us; but the Lord forgets us not: he is with us still, knowing our danger and affording us his help. Persecution may rage, and the walls of a dungeon may bury us from the notice of the world, and cut off our intercourse with earthly friends; but that voice from one whose heart glows with a diviner friendship, is yet heard saying, Lo I am with you always. No prison walls can bar his entrance, nor separate us from his presence. Death may remove us from the province of man’s power; but even this does not put us beyond the reach and remembrance of our heavenly Friend, for then our life is only hid with him in God. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.3
But says some desponding believer, This might have been so when the promise was fresh, and before the first ages of his church had passed away; but surely it cannot be that after so many ages, he yet regards it. The answer is, He regards it still. On this very point he made provision when the promise fell from his lips. He does not say, Lo I am with you for a few years, or even for a few ages; but, Lo I am with you always even to the end of the world. The end of the world has not yet come; the promise therefore has not yet expired. Be assured, he is not slack concerning it. He does not forget it. He has not become weary in fulfilling it. It is still for the believer in all its length and breadth and fullness. And so it will be till the Master appears, and faith is lost in sight. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.4
Have you the evidence the Lord is with you? You may have it. Be sure that you fulfill that which is required of you, that you love him and keep his commandments, and that his words abide in you. Then you may know that you abide in him and he in you; that he is with you, and will be with you to the end. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.5
NOTES AND QUERIES
QUERY. Paul says, “Let your women keep silence in the churches.” 1 Corinthians 14:34. Are we to understand him as he says? or how? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.6
S. R. T.
As he says, most certainly. But what does he say? We do not believe he says anything to contradict the directions he has just given in the same and the three previous chapters. In the same chapter he speaks of the church, giving certain directions concerning it. Now who are the church? Are women recognized as a part of it? No one will deny that they are. Then hear the words of the apostle. Verse 23. “If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues,” etc. Verse 24. “But if all prophesy,” etc. Verse 31. “But ye may all prophesy” [if the Spirit so direct], all, without any exception, females as well as males. But lest some should say that what follows about the women being silent, Paul designed as an exception to this general rule, we turn to the eleventh chapter, and find especial directions concerning women’s praying and prophesying. In what sense does the apostle use the word prophesy here? He means by it, speaking and exhorting to the comfort and edification of the church. Chap 14:3. In view of all this it looks to us like a very singular position for any one to take who believes in the authenticity of the Scriptures, to claim that by the silence of chap 14:34, is forbidden the very things about which he had been giving such explicit directions, and granting such unbounded liberty. We think the language in question was designed to correct some particular abuse existing in the Corinthian church. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.7
DISTINCTION OF MEATS. - A correspondent asks an explanation of Isaiah 65:1-8, and also chap 66:17, particularly the reference to swine’s flesh, found in those scriptures. The query we suppose is, Do those scriptures apply to the present time, and is the eating of such food thereby forbidden? In regard to Isaiah 65:1-8, there is evident reference to the call of the Gentiles. Paul so applies it in Romans 10:20, 21. The Jews and Gentiles are there contrasted. The rebellious people are the literal house of Israel; and hence to the same people apply the accusations of remaining among the groves, lodging in the monuments, eating swine’s flesh, etc. But what about Isaiah 66:17? Those who endeavor to prove by it that there is a restriction laid upon certain kinds of food in this dispensation, will find difficulties in their interpretation. There is a class of people brought to view in the text, who have other characteristics besides the eating of swine’s flesh: They sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens, and eat, not only swine’s flesh, but the abomination and the mouse! Can any class of people be found at the present day to whom this language will literally apply? There cannot. To one of two conclusions, then, we must here come: It must either apply to those in the past dispensation, who literally did such things, or it must be taken symbolically, as denoting some peculiar and particular sins. But neither of these positions affords any ground for the conclusion that by it pork is now excluded as an article of provision. We prefer to take scripture declarations in their most literal sense, when such an interpretation is admissible. And we see no objection to taking this so, the allusions to the future punishment of the wicked, which Isaiah 66 contains being as applicable to sinners in the days of that prophet, as at any other time; since they will all be destroyed together at the end of the one thousand years of Revelation 20. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.8
We would not be understood in these remarks as discussing the propriety or impropriety of making pork a common article of food. We only design to state why we think the Bible does not in the passages referred to, lay upon it any restriction as respects this dispensation. So far as that book directs we understand all are at liberty to use it or refrain from it, as other considerations may determine. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.9
THE EVENING. - I am at a loss how to harmonize a text of scripture found in Mark 4, and the idea of the day commencing with the evening. It is as follows: “And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.” Matthew says, “When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils, and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick. Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.” Matthew 8:16-18. It would appear, by the way Matthew records the event, that Christ performed several miracles, after the even was come, before he gave commandment to depart unto the other side; and yet Mark says it was the same day that he gave the command. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.10
M. B.
This, and similar expressions, are easily explained from the fact that the Jews reckoned two evenings. Says the Bible Dictionary, lately published by the American Tract Society, “The Hebrews reckoned two evenings in each day. According to the Pharisees and the Rabbins, the first evening began when the sun inclined to descend more rapidly, that is, at the ninth hour; while the second or real evening commenced at sunset.” Robinson’s testimony [Gr.Lex.] is similar. He says: “The Hebrews reckoned two evenings; so in the phrase ‘between the two evenings,’ as marking the interval or portion of the day in which the paschal lamb was killed [Exodus 12:6, etc.], and also the evening sacrifice was to be offered. Exodus 29:39, 41. The Pharisees and Rabbinists according to the Mishna (Pesach 5,3) held the first evening to commence with the declining sun, and the second evening with the setting sun. This was the prevailing view in the time of our Lord, the hour of evening sacrifice and prayer being then the ninth hour, or 3 P. M., Acts 3:1, and the paschal lamb being regularly killed between the ninth and eleventh hours. Jos. B. J. 6,9,3.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.11
It thus appears that there were two evenings to the same day, one evening marking the commencement of the day, and the other occupying the closing hours of the same day. Hence the expression, the same day at evening, contains no difficulty. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.12
COMMENCEMENT OF THE DAY. - How can Matthew 28, be harmonized with the idea of commencing the day at sunset. Admitting that the day is supplied, what does the term, dawn, mean? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.13
J. F. B.
“As it began to dawn,” signifies, as it began to grow light. The supplied word day, signifies not only the whole period of twenty-four hours, but also the light part of the day, between sunrise and sunset, as in Matthew 4:2. This is evidently its meaning in Matthew 28:1. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.14
SABBATH SCHOOLS. - M. S. Kellogg: In answer to your inquiry we will state in brief the present method of conducting the Sabbath School here; and the friends in your vicinity can act upon the same, if they see no better way. We meet at 10 o’clock A. M., and spend usually an hour and a half in the exercises. School is opened by singing. The superintendent then reads a chapter in the Bible and engages in prayer. After this the teachers proceed with the lesson in their respective classes. Although conducted under the general name of Sabbath school, the higher classes partake more of the nature of a Bible class. Some interesting portion of scripture is taken, usually a chapter, or less if the subjects embraced in it are specially important and comprehensive. The object aimed at is to get a full and clear understanding of the scripture examined. The teacher asks those questions which in his or her opinion are calculated to draw out such remarks and suggestions from the class as will throw light on the lesson, and also takes into consideration such questions as may be proposed by any of the class. This exercise being finished, the superintendent makes some general remarks upon the lesson, and then calls upon the members of the school, more or less of them, as time will allow, for a text of scripture upon some particular subject which had been given out the Sabbath previous. For instance, if the subject of the Sabbath is proposed, every member of the school is to have a text to repeat upon that subject the next Sabbath; and so with any other subject. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.15
We are finding the above a very efficient method of increasing our interest in, and knowledge of, the teaching of the Bible. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.16
ORGANIZATION
As we are speedily approaching the time for effecting an organization for publishing our papers and books, and as some may still have doubts about the propriety of the action, I wish to say a few words through the REVIEW. A remark recently made to me by a man from one of the Eastern States I shall make the immediate foundation of this article. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 140.17
This person asked me how the REVIEW Office was held, and by whom owned. I explained to him the circumstances. He appeared to be pleased to get correct information, and said that a man in the State of New York told him that Eld. White was a designing man; that he had induced the friends of the cause to contribute funds to establish the Office, they supposing that it belonged to the church; but it now turned out that he owned it all. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.1
However averse we may feel in general to make an individual the subject of remarks, there are times and circumstances when such feelings must be put away, and the truth itself must be vindicated in the persons of its advocates. I wish to refer to some facts in the past. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.2
Alone and unassisted, Bro. White commenced the publication of present truth. “Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 2,” which every one should read, will give some idea of his trials and labors. After the establishment of the Office at Rochester, Bro. White, as publisher, editor and preacher, was engaged in editing the paper, purchasing materials, overseeing the publishing and printing, stitching and folding, etc., answering correspondence, giving advice, writing books, besides which he was expected to attend all the conferences and important meetings, and was sometimes strongly censured for failing to attend them where a failure was unavoidable. While thus laboring on with scanty means and failing health, dissatisfaction arose. Some who had been for years benefited by his labors, but who had borne no burdens themselves, and therefore could not appreciate the trials of others, began to raise the cry that the cause could not prosper - too much power was placed in the hands of Bro. White! This, of course, was trying to Bro. W., and to all the true friends of the cause, who plainly saw that one power he did not possess to a sufficient degree to bear up under his complicated labors, to wit.: “the power of endurance.” Under this spirit of jealousy the “Messenger” was started; and as Bro. W. had long borne too many burdens, that was deemed a fit time to throw them off, and at once relieve himself, and save from a trial of mind those who were like to be deceived by the murmurings and misrepresentations of the Messenger and its friends. Accordingly, he resigned the office of editor, placed the materials fully in the hands of the church, and transferred the books he had published to the charge of a committee at a very low rate. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.3
The conference appointed a Publishing Committee to take charge of the business, who hired Bro. White, at a merely nominal price, to transact the business for them. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.4
The Messenger having accomplished its work, and drawn away the crooked and rebellious spirits out of the church, God’s servants took hold of the work with renewed zeal and energy, and the cause prospered for a season even beyond the most sanguine anticipations of its friends. The publishing facilities needed to be increased, and it was decided to obtain a power press. Bro. White, as the agent for the committee, solicited and received contributions and purchased a press, engine, etc. It soon became evident that the Office building was insufficient for publishing purposes, and this gave rise to a question as to the title of real estate. If the Office was removed, a new site must be purchased, but if it was not removed, the present location must be purchased from the individuals owning it before the necessary alterations could be made. It was then seen that the conference committee could not obtain any legal title as they were not a body recognized by the law; again the question arose as to the ownership of the office materials, and it was found that the committee were equally incompetent to hold gifts or donations, and that the title was really vested in Bro. White who had received the contributions. This was as much a matter of astonishment to him as to any one else, and as he had seen the use that the enemy had made of his position in 1855, he did not feel willing to go forward and increase the property of the church unless the church was competent to hold it. In other words, he refused to do what the enemies of the cause are accusing him of doing! ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.5
Although he has passed through some trying scenes, they have not so blunted his sensibilities (as some appear to think) but what he can feel the force of malicious accusations and insinuations. Any and all who will take this home to themselves will see that no one can act free where their actions are so very liable to be misunderstood and misrepresented. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.6
Bro. White has occupied a place where great responsibilities have necessarily rested on him; this fact has been viewed in a wrong light by many of his true sympathizing friends. They say the Lord has called him to occupy such a place, and we are satisfied to trust him in that position. But I now think we should make a different use of the fact. Allowing that the Lord has placed Bro. W. in his position, does he not require that he shall be free in that position? Surely, it is not a sufficient reason for binding unnecessary burdens on a man, that he is called of God to do his work. The messenger of the church who goes forth to proclaim the present truth, desires to be as free as his circumstances will possibly permit, and we consider that person no friend of the cause of God who will needlessly add to his burdens. There are greater responsibilities and heavier burdens necessarily attaching to Bro. W.’s position than to that of any other laborer in the message, and of course there is a proportional necessity of his mind being free from perplexities and embarrassments that do not legitimately belong to his position, or to his calling. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.7
Although there has been an aversion to changing the order of things pertaining to the publishing department, it would be well to bear in mind that the present state has not been sanctioned by the church. The very act of the conference in appointing a Publishing Committee, and the endorsement of that action by subsequent conferences, shows that the body did not contemplate having Bro. White bear the burden and responsibility that he has borne; and he only demurred when he found that the Committee were legally incompetent to perform the duties for which they were appointed, and that he was in fact sustaining a position that he repudiated in 1855, and that the conference of that year had not the remotest idea of placing him in. All this considered, with the further fact that the late position of the Office gives occasion to the enemy to cast blame and reproach upon the most tried friend of the cause, will justify the course of the late conference in taking steps for the organization of the Publishing Association. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.8
Late information from Lansing gives us to understand that a bill has passed into a law, under which we can organize. We shall soon be made acquainted with its provisions, and the friends of the cause, who stand waiting to aid by becoming members of the association, will have an opportunity of joining us in the work. We hope that prejudice will be laid entirely aside, and reason and love of the cause control the action of every one. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.9
J. H. W.
MEETINGS IN KNOXVILLE, IOWA
I COMMENCED meetings in the old court house in Knoxville, the first of March, and held over first-day. The Lord gave freedom in preaching the word. Our social meetings were also very good. On Monday night the new court house was opened for me. I gave three lectures in that. Notwithstanding Eld. Edwards, the “sailor preacher,” the great Baptist revivalist, is holding meetings every day and night in Knoxville, our congregations were large. The house was well filled with attentive hearers every night. Some who have been the subjects of prayer for more than a year are now rejoicing in present truth. Their only wonder is that they did not see it before. Five were buried with their Lord in the ordinance of baptism. May the Lord make them a bright light in time to come. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.10
The church in Knoxville has learned by the things which it has suffered. I think it is now in the best condition that it has ever been, having been benefited by past experience. May the Lord preserve us unto his heavenly kingdom. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.11
M. HULL.
P. S. Brn. H. C. Whitney, and B. N. Auten, of Knoxville, Bro. N. Hodges, of Sandyville, Bro. A. Caldwell, of Decatur City, and Bro. C. H. T. St. Clair, of Fairfield, have been appointed tent committee. The brethren have resolved to support the tent in Southern Iowa. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.12
M. H.
BREVITIES
SYMPATHY is a good trait, but we must direct it aright, or often it leads astray; as when on the side of justice, it is a virtue; but when ill-directed, it becomes a vice. The Judge upon the bench would be guilty of a heinous offense, if he should allow his sympathetic feelings to arise in the discharge of his official duties. Not less guilty is the christian who does not control his sympathies. Love is an excellent trait, and should be in its purest sense exercised towards all; but there are certain kinds of love that are limited, as “conjugal love.” Now what would be the condition of that person who would cease to confine this particular kind of love to its proper limits? All can see this. Sympathy is not less mischievous when at large and unbridled. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.13
Can those be engaged in the message who do not understand it? Can those understand the message who do not study it? Can those study the message who do not feel interested in it? Neglect of duty is as deadly a sin as presumptuous or willful sin, and as fatal, perhaps more so. The soldier who does not use prudence, and neglects to use means of defense, is soon subdued by his foe; for bravery without caution is as dangerous as cowardice. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.14
Pride is the fuel for fanaticism. Seek righteousness, seek meekness, it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger. Pride is exceedingly hateful to God, and often he gives the proud over to Satan. Oh, how exceedingly dangerous to be complimented and flattered, when the best of men, as Job, says he abhors himself; and Daniel says his comeliness is turned into corruption; and Isaiah says, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. If you wish to be the target of devils, and the burden and grief of the good, cultivate pride and self-conceit. Let careless compliments sink deep into your bosom, feed upon praise, and sweet words, and soon Satan entices you into his parlor, and makes you think it is the outer court of heaven. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.15
Bro. Fanciful had a series of dreams and powerful impressions; but Brn. Caution and Experience held him in check; and now they can work in union, as they all feel the necessity of moving understandingly and cautiously, and in harmony with the body. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.16
When an army contemplates a grand attack upon the enemy, concentration is the order of the day; and as the fight approaches, and the armies begin to close in, in deadly conflict, all stragglers from the main body are viewed with suspicion; and no sane soldier or officer will rush upon the enemy singly, but with close rank and phalanx, all move with order and precision; and woe to the careless soldier or disobedient, ambitious officer, who, to add laurels to his own brow, causes a diversion, and thus tramples upon the order of the day. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.17
DUTIES. - Unfulfilled duties are like a dead weight to sink the soul beneath the waves, while duties well and promptly performed, are like buoyant life-preservers, and when duties are conscientiously performed, then the life-preserver is expanded, and buoys up the person; but neglected duties are like so many life-preservers from which the air has escaped, and the more you have of them, the deeper you sink. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.18
Not that I would affirm that we can be saved by the performance of duties (by the grace of God it is we are saved), but in the performance of them it is God has seen fit to manifest his glorious presence, to christian warriors and worthies in the past. Abraham was a good man, but he must prove himself so, and God tried his confidence in the contemplation of sacrificing the favorite Isaac, and in the fulfillment of the duty comes the fulfillment of the promise. Not in the abstract consent of the mind alone (although many duties are necessarily mere consent of the will), God will have proof, visible proof, both to the individual, to the church, to the world, and to God himself, and in every genuine experience such as God is now granting his people, and such as stand on ancient record, this fact is prominent, that God reveals himself most clearly to the most thorough and patient worker. Witness Moses, David, Cornelius, Paul, John, etc., and one fact is quite remarkable (to the natural heart) that these worthies always performed these duties as a privilege, a pleasure, not as merits, not as prices; and the gifts of God were always received with thanksgiving, with the fact always in view, that all on man’s part is dependence and unworthiness; all on God’s part is free gift and boundless love and benevolence. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 141.19
WELL KNOWN. - Did you ever think of it? that your character is truly daguerreotyped in heaven? Every word and act, habits of thought, that inward but hidden spite against your faithful brother, that secret lust, that self-complacent glance in the looking-glass, that envious look at your neighbor’s house and furniture, that hidden corner of your heart where burn occasionally, old grudges, unforgiven injuries, unlawful loves, impure remembrances, unholy desires and passions, which you would blush to confide to your most intimate friend, all faithfully transcribed in heaven! As the artist portrays every lineament of the face in the daguerreotype, so truly and impartially is every part of the church, in all its deformity or excellence, inscribed in heaven, and what is encouraging to the humble seeker for holiness, is that every victory, every secret sigh for freedom, every groan and tear on account of sin and temptation, every struggle for emancipation, every longing for light, every agonizing prayer for the presence and leading of the Spirit, is also recorded in heaven, and noticed by Him who condescends to call us brethren; and the great Jehovah, whose piercing eye enters every heart, with impartial justice, views the hidden springs of action and motive. Lame apologies, and limping self-justifications, little leanings towards self-favoritism, “small ephahs,” and “great shekels” [Amos 8:5], false shame before the wicked, but distrust of God, and light treatment of his messages, with all the black catalogue of sin, with the progress of its opposite holiness, is written in living characters in heaven. There it will stand as evidence to condemn or acquit. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.1
Now brother, sister, let us all endeavor to keep our garments, so to inspect our hearts, that we may see them as they are viewed in heaven, and live as always in this light. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.2
J. CLARKE.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
WHEN and by whom were the books of the Old Testament first collected and arranged? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.3
By Ezra, about 400 years before Christ. The five books of Moses had been kept with the ark of the covenant [Deuteronomy 31:24, 26], and Joshua had written the portion of scripture bearing his name “in the book of the law of God.” Joshua 8:24, 26. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.4
What are the most prominent translations of the Bible that have been made? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.5
The Septuagint, the Vulgate, the Douay, and the English, or king James’ Bible. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.6
What is the meaning of the word Septuagint? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.7
Seventy. The translation was so called because it was made by seventy, or more strictly, by seventy-two men; six having been chosen from each of the twelve tribes of Israel for this purpose. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.8
When and where was the translation made? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.9
At Alexandria, in Egypt, about 200 years before Christ. It was a translation of the Old Testament only, from the Hebrew and the Greek. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.10
How was the translation regarded by the Jews in the time of Christ? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.11
It was regarded with peculiar reverence. Our Saviour and the apostles, in their discourses, generally quoted from this version. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.12
What is the Vulgate translation? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.13
It is a Latin translation of the Septuagint not of the Hebrew, and so called the Vulgate, because, being the only version which the Roman Catholic church holds to be reliable, it is in that church the common version. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.14
When and by whom was the translation made? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.15
By Jerome, about the year A. D. 400. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.16
What of the Douay Bible? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.17
It is an English translation of the Vulgate, with notes and comments, and is the only English Bible approved by the Roman Catholic church. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.18
From what did it receive its name? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.19
From the place where it was first published - Douay, a town in France. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.20
When was it published? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.21
In the year 1610. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.22
Why does it differ so much from our English Bible? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.23
Because it was made, not from the original Hebrew, but from the Vulgate, which was from the Septuagint, and was very imperfect. It could not be as correct as a translation made directly from the Hebrew. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.24
Why is our English version called king James’ Bible? Because it was made during the reign of James I, king of England. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.25
When was it begun, and when completed? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.26
In the year 1607 the work was commenced, and finished in about three years, and published in 1611. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.27
Fifty-four of the most learned men of the kingdom were appointed to perform the task. Seven of these did not serve, leaving forty-seven as the number who were actually engaged in the work. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.28
How was the labor apportioned among this number? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.29
They were divided into six classes: to each of which a certain portion of the Bible was given to translate, not from the Latin or the Septuagint, but directly from the original Hebrew and Greek. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.30
What was the earliest division of the Bible? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.31
That which is supposed to have been made by Ezra. The books of the Old Testament were divided into three classes: The Law, the Prophets, and the Writing, or The Psalms. To this our Saviour refers. Luke 24:44. All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.32
When and by whom was the Bible first divided into chapters? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.33
This is generally said to have been done by Cardinal Hugo, A. D. 1240. But as early as the middle of the third century the four gospels had been divided into chapters. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.34
When and by whom were the chapters divided into verses? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.35
By Robert Stephens, in the year 1551. It is said he performed the greater part of his laborious task while on horseback, on a journey from Paris to Lyons. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.36
What of the punctuation of the Bible? ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.37
The introduction of points or stops to mark the sense, is a gradual improvement, commenced by Jerome in the fourth century, and continued and improved by succeeding critics. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.38
LEADING CHILDREN TO CHRIST
I THANK thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast + + + revealed these things unto babes. Luke 10:21. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.39
“We make Pharisees of our children, unintentionally to be sure, but no less certainly, and then if the gospel ever takes effect upon their hearts, all our work must be undone,” remarked Mrs. Herbert when her sister closed the door on her sleeping child. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.40
“I don’t understand you,” said Mrs. Norton in an inquiring tone. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.41
“I was thinking of what you had been telling little Willie, and of my own former teachings,” replied Mrs. Herbert. “You told him if he was a good boy and obeyed his parents, and said his prayers, he would go to heaven when the time came for him to die.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.42
“Well, what else could I say?” asked the mother in surprise. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.43
“Tell him the simple story of the cross, teach him his own sinfulness and his entire dependence on Christ for salvation.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.44
“But will such teaching answer for one so young, will it not discourage all effort to do right?” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.45
“I think not; on the contrary it will cultivate and strengthen the noblest faculties of the mind, while it prepares the way for the gospel.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.46
“I’m sure I should not know what to say,” remarked Mrs. Norton with a sigh. “I could tell the story of the fall, and explain the plan of redemption somewhat, perhaps, but when I should attempt to apply these truths to his own little self in his childish life, I should fail! What could I say?” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.47
“Take your own relations to him as an illustration,” replied Mrs. Herbert; “teach him to do right, not to purchase heaven with his good works, but that he may please the dear Jesus who loves little Willie even more than his mother does. This is a beautiful idea to the mind of a child, and certainly the scriptural one. Duty-doing then becomes the privilege of love, not the purchase of favor. How much more noble the motive, and, believe me, the incentive is stronger. Above all, teach your child that all acceptable service must spring from love in the heart. Do not desist until you are fully satisfied that your child is converted.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.48
“Converted! Why, Mary, do you think Willie is old enough to be a Christian?” asked Mrs. Norton with surprise. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.49
“I do not know,” replied Mrs. Herbert; “the time when moral responsibility begins, differs according to the mental development of children, and we cannot say that all children are irresponsible till a certain age, and after that time, all children are accountable subjects of God’s government, but I think the period of responsibility, and consequently the age at which children may become Christians, is much younger than many imagine.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.50
“As you have no children, of course that opinion is mere theory,” said Mrs. Norton in a tone which clearly implied her doubts of its correctness. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.51
“No, it is not mere theory. I have known three, yes, four instances of the conversion of children about the age of Willie; and I never shall forget the circumstances which wrought an entire change in my own mode of instruction as an infant-school teacher.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.52
“Early in the spring of 18—I became deeply impressed with the idea that some of my class would die that summer, and that I must be more faithful in my efforts for their immediate conversion. The impression that I should lose some of my flock was not remarkable, for I had a class of seventy-five little children, and it would seem almost wonderful if none did die during the summer. But such reasoning did not relieve the feeling of responsibility. At one of the Sabbath-school teachers’ meetings the superintendent was urging upon the teachers the duty of laboring directly for the conversion of their classes, and turning to me he said, ‘Mrs. Herbert, though you cannot hope to see immediate results from your labors among such young children, you may expect that the seed sown will spring up and bear fruit hereafter.’ Oh! I cannot tell you how this affected me; I replied, ‘If I could not labor and pray for their immediate conversion, believing such a work to be possible, I would give up the class at once.’ A half smile of incredulity passed over the faces of the teachers, and superintendent, and I felt that with that great burden upon my heart, I was considered visionary, and consequently was shut out from their prayerful sympathy. I also spoke of my feelings in the ladies prayer-meeting with nearly the same result, though the mothers prayed for me, and for their young children, yet evidently with many doubts of the possibility of an immediate answer. I felt shut up to God! But when did divine strength ever fail the humble seeker? The visitors to the infant class were accustomed to speak to the children of the necessity of a new heart, but none had ever explained the subject to their comprehension, and I undertook the difficult task. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.53
“Never till then had I the least idea that I was imparting to those tender minds any other than pure gospel truth, but when I attempted to explain to them the entire sinfulness of their own nature, and the utter impossibility of doing anything to merit eternal life, I saw plainly from their perplexed and eager listening that they were seeking to reconcile this with the teaching they had previously received from my lips, and perhaps from the lips of their Christian mothers, that if they were good they would go to heaven. Week after week, with earnest prayer and thought, I labored to present the plan of salvation through Christ, in such a plain and simple manner that every child could understand it, and I was surprised to find how much my own conceptions of the gospel, the plain, simple doctrines of grace, had become enshrouded in the mysticism of a phraseology, which, though perhaps correct in itself, does not convey even to the mature mind, the same impressions that are made by the use of such simple terms as children can readily understand. I became a very child myself in the blessed preparation to teach these babes. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.54
“The hot summer months came on with no diminution of my solicitude, and no apparent answer to my prayers. One day I heard that one of my little ones was dead! So suddenly did the summons come, that though her mother was one of my most intimate friends I had not even heard of the dear child’s illness. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.55
“Mattie had been a restless child, full of life and vigor; she was very affectionate, and had been well instructed by a devoted Christian mother, but was she one of Christ’s little ones? Only six years old, was she a responsible moral agent? Oh! how I longed to know what, with so large a class, I could not learn at the Sabbath-school. After the funeral, I called on her mother, and, to my great joy, learned many facts which led me to believe that the dear little one was indeed an heir of grace. She was delirious during her illness, but her mother said that for some time previous, she and other members of the family had noticed a change in her. She had been in the habit of secret prayer, and when her little friends visited her, she had been overheard by her mother and sisters talking to them in her simple way of Jesus and her love for him. She often told her mother during the spring and summer that ‘she could not stay away from Sunday-school because Mrs. Herbert was telling the children how to get a new heart so they could go to heaven.’ And in the Sunday-school when I said at the close of the regular lesson, ‘Now children if you will be quiet I will tell you about the new heart,’ Mattie’s sister frequently heard her say to the children beside her, ‘Don’t whisper to me now, for I want to learn how to get a new heart.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 142.56
“How far, or, if in any degree, my effort had been the means of her conversion, I do not know, but I went home cheered and encouraged, and need I say strengthened in the belief of the early conversion of children when properly instructed, and never since then have I taught the little ones that ‘if they are good they will go to heaven.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.1
“Why, Mary, I never looked at the subject at all in that light before,” said Mrs. Norton; “I thought Willie quite too young to understand much about these things, and all I had to do at present was to teach him his little prayers, and give him some motives for right doing. But I shall change my course at once, for I believe you are right. Dear little Matty! if my Willie should be taken away, how precious would be such assurance that he was safe in the arms of Jesus,” and the young mother’s eyes were suffused with tears. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.2
“God help you to lead him to that loving Saviour,” said Mrs. Herbert. “Do not be discouraged by the difficulties which you will surely encounter; remember that Jesus himself has said, ‘Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’” - Fam. Guardian. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.3
LETTERS
“Then they that feared the Lord, spake often one to another.”
From Bro. Gurney
DEAR BRO. SMITH: I wait for the Review as it makes its weekly visits as I wait for a drink of cold water when very thirsty. It comforts and encourages me while waiting for the Lord; and by its faithfulness, and straight forward course in advocating present truth, though unpopular, and pointing out and condemning errors, it reproves me if I should stray from the narrow path. How cheering to hear from the various parts of the great harvest field every week. By this means I am prepared to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, and thus sympathize with those who feel the burden of this message. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.4
Brethren and sisters we should not be slow to hold up the hands of the burden-bearers in this message. God’s frown will rest upon those who do not come up to the help of the Lord in the great preparation for the Lord’s coming. How glorious appears the harmonious chain of present truth. It is the word of the Lord, like apples of gold in pictures of silver. It is a fire to consume dross, and undermine sandy foundations. It is a sword with two edges, which proceeds from the mouth of the Lord, and gloriously defends justice and mercy. Can we ask more to be done for us? But we greatly lack the spirit of this message, which is communicated through faith. Where faith is lacking communication by the ministry of angels is suspended. Then how weak! How poor! How miserable, and wretched blind and naked! Jesus pleads, angels wait to communicate, but faith shivers like a leaf in the wind. All this distrust amounts to nothing, but will end in death. We have every reason to believe firmly and fully in regard to all the way which the Lord has led us into the third angel’s message. The heavens by signs have preached to us. The earth is preaching to us with groans unutterable. Men have been endowed with power and preached to us, unfolding the rich treasures of God’s word. The evil servants have preached to us by their railing and scoffing, filling up their cup of iniquity for the day of wrath. Angels have been sent, and, through vision, have preached to us, correcting our errors and encouraging us in the warfare, and have we not reasons to believe without wavering? O let us cherish every good impression and strictly abide by them. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.5
May the God of peace sanctify wholly, and preserve us blameless. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.6
Yours waiting in hope. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.7
H. S. GURNEY.
Jackson, Mich.
From Sister Davis
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: I read with pleasure your testimonies in the Review, and would like to hear from many more, especially the lonely ones. What a comfort it is to them that God is not confined to numbers, but is willing to meet one; and none can hinder them from holding communion with him daily. Be true to your Lord and Saviour, and you need not fear to tread the rough and thorny way; though all at times may look dark, yet remember Jesus has said, Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.8
We all profess to be walking towards the celestial city. Will every one be admitted through its gates? Can we live on in the indulgence of known sin and expect an entrance there? Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. Galatians 5:24. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.9
A short time since I read an account of a young man who, while traveling in foreign lands, lost his passport. He succeeded in deceiving the officers at stations of secondary importance, but on arriving at the frontier the demand for his passport was imperative. His loss, and the various artifices and subterfuges by which he had managed to conceal that loss, were detected, and his further progress arrested. Now if we would see the inside of the city of the living God, every one of us, young and old, must obtain a passport, and let us see to it that we have the right kind, for a spurious one will do us no good whatever. For if it were possible for us with such an one, to travel the whole length of the road and come up to the gates of the city, yet Jesus would never open those pearly gates and bid us welcome, but would say, I never knew you; depart from me ye that work iniquity. We read that without holiness no man shall see God. Here then we have the true passport, and with it we shall have an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of God. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.10
Those that take pleasure in unrighteousness and still think to find their way into the kingdom, would do well to look to their passport. Either they have lost it, or else never had the right kind. They may have a form of godliness, a name and place with the children of God, but if they are not striving to purify themselves by obedience to the word of God, they have great reason to fear that they will never be admitted into the kingdom. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.11
We must be consistent christians. Our works must correspond with our faith. We must not pray one thing and do another, but must act in unison with our prayers, and press onward. We have but a little way farther to go, and as we travel on let us make it our first business to secure to ourselves a true passport, one that will carry us clear through. The only way to obtain it is by keeping the commandments of God faithfully, and living out all the precepts of Jesus. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.12
Shall we not be diligent in our Master’s service a little while longer? Jesus is soon coming, and his reward is with him to give to every man as his work shall be. O that we all may receive the reward of the overcomers, is the prayer of your sister in Christ. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.13
E. A. DAVIS. Mill Grove, N. Y. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.14
From Sister Swan
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: I feel to thank my heavenly Father for his tender mercy towards me, and especially that he has permitted me, though unworthy, to be identified with the little company who are looking and waiting for the return of their Lord. How consoling to the weary, wayworn pilgrim tossed by the waves of adversity, and buffeted by the temptations of Satan, is the promise of the Saviour, “If I go away I will come again,” and doubly consoling the assurance that his coming is near, even at the door. For several years past I have been much afflicted by sickness, and for the past year I have been much of the time entirely prostrated, and the sweet comfort which I have at times derived from the precious promises contained in the word of God is inexpressible. I have often been led to say with one of old, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted.” I often have been led to praise the Lord for trials which at the time were very hard to bear, but which served to wean my affections from earthly objects, and cause me to long for the appearing of my Saviour. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.15
O, my hard and wicked heart! how prone to cling to earthly objects, and how cold towards Him to whom I owe my heart’s best affections. When I realize the unbounded love of the dear Saviour in giving his life, even suffering a painful death upon the cross, that we poor sinners might have eternal life, I am astonished that I can ever fail for one moment to love that precious Saviour with my whole heart. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.16
“Lord, it is my chief complaint,
That my love is weak and faint:
Yet I love thee and adore,
O for grace to love thee more.”
ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.17
There are three of us in this place who are keeping the Sabbath; also one family in Huntsburgh, and one in Montville who have never heard a lecture on present truth. We would be very glad to have a messenger come among us and spend a few weeks; but we feel to wait patiently, believing that in his own good time the Lord will cause the third angel’s message to be proclaimed in this vicinity. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.18
Your unworthy sister. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.19
S. M. SWAN.
Orwell, Ashtabula Co., Ohio.
From Sister Kellogg
BRO. SMITH: I would again throw in my testimony on the side of present truth. I love God’s people, and the cause in which we are engaged. It is my desire to go through to mount Zion with the remnant. The great day of the Lord is near and hasteth greatly. O that I may realize the solemn time in which we live, and have that preparation that is so much needed. I believe we are living in the sifting time, when those who are careless and do not heed the warnings the Lord has given to us will be spued out of the mouth of the faithful and true Witness. What an awful thing to be thus left, never to be placed on probation again. Satan is trying his utmost to lull us to sleep. O let us be awake. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.20
“Wake up brother, wake up sister,
Seek, O seek that holy state,
None but holy ones can enter
Through the pure, celestial gate.”
ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.21
ELIZABETH S. KELLOGG. Ionia, Mich. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.22
OBITUARY
DIED in Round Grove, Ills., Feb. 1, 1861, of consumption, Orvilla Hart, aged 51 years. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.23
Sister Hart’s health began to fail a year and a half before she died, during which time this fatal disease gradually wasted her system until she became very much emaciated. Through her sickness she manifested a desire to live on account of her children, but a short time before her death she appeared to be willing to go. The funeral was attended at her house. A discourse was delivered by Bro. G. W. Mitchell from Hebrews 2:6. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.24
Eld. J. Hart, husband of the deceased, came West with his family in the spring of 1856, but Aug. 17, 1858, he was called to lie down in death: a daughter soon followed; and now the companion and mother sleeps by their side. May God comfort and bless the four orphan children which they have left behind. Gloomy indeed would be this life of disappointment and death if there was no hope beyond the grave; but we have the blessed assurance that they which sleep in Jesus shall be brought again from the dead. 1 Thessalonians 4:14; Hebrews 13:20. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.25
D. HILDRETH.
Frequent thoughts of death, judgment, and eternity, are very profitable and useful for many purposes. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 143.26
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
BATTLE CREEK, MICH., THIRD-DAY, MARCH 19, 1861
BRO. and Sr. White left Battle Creek on the morning of the 14th inst. on their western tour. They design to be absent till about the first of June. We trust the prayers of the church will go with them that they may have abundant liberty and success throughout their journey. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.1
BRO. Cornell is still laboring with success in Chesaning, Mich. He writes, under date of the 11th inst., that he was to spend another week there organizing a church, introducing Systematic Benevolence, etc. He inquires if Bro. Loughborough can attend a conference there in April. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.2
BRO. Ingraham sends us a new subscriber from Monroe, Wis. The individual is a native of Switzerland, and has lately come out on the truth. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.3
WE publish this week some valuable information respecting the books of the Bible which we think our readers would do well to preserve for future reference. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.4
FROM a business note received from Bro. H. C. Whitney of Knoxville, Iowa, dated Mar. 12, 1861, we extract the following encouraging item: “Last evening the church met at Bro. Garretson’s for communion, and the Lord blessed beyond measure. Praise the Lord for the good Spirit! How necessary for every one of God’s people to live out the third angel’s message. May the Lord give strength and wisdom. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.5
A LETTER from Bro. Loughborough, dated Mar. 15, 1861, informs us that he designed to commence meetings the following evening in Clinton, Len. Co., Mich. In reference to his last place of meeting he says: “The interest was good in Somersett where I gave my last lectures. I gave fourteen lectures which were well attended; and I think some of the many who expressed themselves satisfied with our position, will obey the truth.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.6
IT will not be possible for us to hold meetings in the West at more than one-half the points requested, as we must be at home the first of June. We hope to make a proper selection of places to visit. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.7
J. W.
ALL Drafts sent to this Office in our absence should be made payable to Uriah Smith. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.8
J. W.
NOTE FROM BRO. INGRAHAM
BRO. SMITH: I have received Testimony to the Church, No. 6, and have read it through. Its truths are most cutting and the reproofs given are timely. I prize the work much, especially that portion which has reference to myself. I shall heed the instruction given, and by the grace of God bear a plain testimony against evil of every form in the church. God is calling upon the ministry to make straight work in the proclamation of the truth. Let us arise at once and take hold of this great work. We have been too slow to act in unison with those whom the Lord in his providence has placed at the head of this work. So it has been in my case. I have been satisfied for some time that business matters in connection with the church have been too loose. In all my deal I have been careful to have everything done in a legal manner to avoid future trouble. But when the real thing came up which was calculated to bring the church into a right position, I was afraid of it. But I am satisfied if we lay hold of it, it will become a staff in our hand. Before Testimony No. 6 had reached me, I had written to Pennsylvania declaring I should go with the Battle Creek conference, and receive the name of Seventh-day Adventist. I see the necessity of union on this point. The Devil will oppose us in this step. He has done it in the past, and will still give us battle. The Mauston delusion branded the Battle Creek proceedings with Babylon. This wild streak of fanaticism has exploded, and those connected with it are ready to pronounce it the work of Satan. I wonder if they are willing now to endorse the proceedings of the Battle Creek conference? If so let us hear from you. How can a church numbering 144,000, or half that number, be managed in business matters without the strictest adherence to legal proceedings? We must be straight upon this point, or go to pieces. Wherein my caution has caused a waiving of common sense, and burdens have been thrown upon any of my brethren by my not acting in a prompt manner in unison with them, I ask their pardon. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.9
Yours in hope of eternal life. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.10
WM. S. INGRAHAM.
Monroe, Wis.
Sister Ranny writes from Richmond, Iowa: “I write a few lines to express my love for the cause of truth for the first time. I am very thankful for the privilege of hearing from the brethren and sisters through the Review, as they speak to us of their hopes of eternal life. I would just say to the brethren and sisters scattered abroad that we meet every Sabbath to renew our strength in the Lord. We are assailed on every hand here, yet the church is getting upon higher ground, and some are coming out on the truth. We lately had a visit from Solomon Miller (brother to Wm. Miller), and he came out and confessed the truth on Sabbath while he was here. He has now gone back to the State of New York where he resides, a believer in the third angel’s message. The church here and in Dayton have adopted the plan of Systematic Benevolence. May the Lord speed this good work, is my prayer.” ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.11
APPOINTMENTS
Providence permitting, we will meet with the brethren at Plum River and Green Vale, Ills., where Bro. S. Myers may appoint, March 23 & 24. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.12
JAMES WHITE.
Business Department
Business Notes
Wm. S. Ingraham: Your letter contained no stamps which you say you enclosed for INSTRUCTOR. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.13
Wm. Peabody: We have not received anything of late from T. J. Carpenter. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.14
Jno. Davis: Your money was received; but as you did not give your P. O. address, we were unable to receipt it. We have on our books the names of from twelve to fifteen hundred post offices, all the way from Maine to Minnesota; and it is impossible for us to remember them all, and the papers that go to each. If none of our subscribers should name their post office, when writing to this Office, it would probably take one person half his time to hunt them up. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.15
H. C. Whitney: Your present remittance pays your paper one week in advance of the present time. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.16
B. McCormic: We have written to Bro. Daniels of your place, concerning the matter you refer to. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.17
J. Bostwick: Your request for criticism on Matthew 28:1, came to hand just as we were going to press. You will find a note on that text in this No. under head of Notes and Queries, which we think is all that need be said on the subject. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.18
Wm. Gulick: Your money for INSTRUCTOR was entered on book. Will receipt in next number. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.19
C. Colby: We do not find any letter from you in our January files, and think we have not received it. We would have sent INSTRUCTOR on receipt of your last, had you given your P. O. address. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.20
I. Abbey: Received. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.21
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 then be given. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.22
C. L. Palmer (for P. Maddux) 0,50,xviii,18. Mr. Johnson (Blacksmith) 1,00,xviii,18. Jno. Davis 5,00,xix,1. A. Olmstead 2,00,xix,18. E. Emery 1,50,xvii,14. L. Falconer 0,50,xviii,18. W. Hastings (for C. Hastings) 0,50,xviii,18. Jno. Stacy 0,50,xviii,18. O. F. Guilford 2,00,xviii,1. J. P. Munsell 1,75,xix,1. E. S. Faxon 1,00,xviii,1. S. A. Snyder 1,00,xviii,1. S. Hills 1,00,xvii,14. H. J. Bonifeld 1,00,xvi,15. F. Finley 0,50,xviii,18. E. A. Wing 1,00,xvii,1. Mrs. D. Chamberlain 1,00,xviii,1. J. S. Louis 0,50,xviii,18. S. Burdick 2,00,xvii,1. A. Chase 1,00,xix,1. A. Perry 0,50,xix,1. S. Segar 1,90,xiii,1. Mrs. L. Morrison 1,00,xviii,18. M. P. Powers 1,00,xviii,18. A. Cronkhite 0,50,xviii,18. H. C. Whitney 0,50,xvii,19. B. McCormic 0,65,xvii,5. O. M. Patten 1,00,xx,1. M. R. Place 1,00,xviii,1. M. C. Butler 1,00,xviii,1. H. Keefer 1,00,xviii,20. A. H. Pervorse 0,50,xvii,1. A. Egbert 1,00,xvii,1. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.23
FOR MISSIONARY PURPOSES. - Wm. Peabody $100,00. Betsey Bryant $2. E. Ranny $1. C. L. Palmer (S. B.) $3. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.24
PUBLICATIONS
| Supplement and Addition to Hymn Book. | 35 cts. |
| ” in paper covers | 25 ” |
| 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, of 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.) - Wesley on the Law - Appeal to Men of Reason on Immortality - Much in Little - Truth - Death and Burial - Preach the Word. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.25
These small Tracts can be sent, post-paid, in packages of not less than twenty-five. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.26
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 angel’s message till she fell asleep in Jesus. Price 25 cents. In paper covers, 20 cents. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.27
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 March 19, 1861, page 144.28
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 March 19, 1861, page 144.29
Holland. De Natuur en Verbinding van den Sabbath volgens het vierde Gebodt. Translated from the same as the German. Price 10 cents. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.30
French. Le Sabbath de la Bible. A Tract on the Sabbath of 32 pp. Price 5 cents. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.31
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 March 19, 1861, page 144.32
These Publications will be sent by Mail, post-paid, at their respective prices. One-third discount by the quantity of not less than $5 worth. In this case, postage added when sent by Mail. All orders to insure attention, must be accompanied with the cash, unless special arrangements be made. Give your Name, Post Office, County and State distinctly. Address REVIEW & HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich. ARSH March 19, 1861, page 144.33