Advent Review, and Sabbath Herald, vol. 14
October 6, 1859
RH VOL. XIV.-BATTLE CREEK, MICH., FIFTH-DAY,-NO. 20
Uriah Smith
ADVENT REVIEW,
AND SABBATH HERALD.
“Here is the Patience of the Saints; Here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus.”
VOL. XIV.-BATTLE CREEK, MICH., FIFTH-DAY, OCTOBER 6, 1859.-NO. 20.
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY
AT BATTLE CREEK, MICH.
BY 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.
Terms.-ONE DOLLAR IN ADVANCE FOR A VOLUME OF 26 NOS. All communications, orders and remittances for the REVIEW AND HERALD should be addressed to URIAH SMITH, Battle Creek, Mich. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.1
SUFFERING
FROM THE GERMAN OF HARTTMAN.
TRIAL when it weighs severely Stamps the Saviour’s image clearly On the heart of all his friends: In the frame his hands have molded Is a future life unfolded Through the suffering which he sends. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.2
Suffering curbs our wayward passions,
Childlike tempers in us fashions,
And our will to his subdues;
Thus his hand, so soft and healing,
Each disordered power and feeling
By a blessed change renews.
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.3
Suffering keeps the thoughts compacted,
That the soul be not distracted
By the world’s beguiling art.
’Tis like some angelic warder
Ever keeping sacred order
In the chambers of the heart.
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.4
Suffering tunes the heart’s emotion
To eternity’s devotion.
And awakes a fond desire
For the land where psalms are ringing,
And with palms the martyrs singing
Sweetly to the harpers choir.
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.5
Suffering gives our faith assurance,
Makes us patient in endurance.
Suffering! who is worth thy pains?
Here they call thee only torment -
There they call thee a preferment,
Which not every one attains.
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.6
Though in health, with powers unwasted,
And with willing hearts we hasted
To take up our Saviour’s cross;
If through trial our good Master
Should refine these powers the faster,
What good Christian counts it loss?
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.7
In the depth of its distresses,
Each true heart the closer presses
To His heart with ardent love;
Ever longing, ever crying,
O, conform me to thy dying,
That I live with thee above!
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.8
MORTAL OR IMMORTAL? WHICH? OR, AN INQUIRY INTO THE PRESENT CONSTITUTION AND FUTURE CONDITION OF MAN
BY THE EDITOR.
(Concluded.)
But we must hasten to notice some of those scriptures which speak to us unmistakably of the sinner’s doom. In entering upon this department it is not our object to multiply testimony. One plain declaration of the Lord of hosts is sufficient for implicit faith: it would not be materially strengthened though an hundred times repeated. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.9
The wicked shall be destroyed. “The Lord preserveth all them that love him; but all the wicked will he destroy.” Here preservation is promised only to those who love God, and in opposition to this, destruction is threatened to the wicked. But human wisdom teaches us that God will preserve the wicked in hell-preserve them for the mere sake of torturing them. Mr. Benson, a English divine, says, “God is therefore present in hell to see the punishment of these rebels. His fiery indignation kindles and his incensed fury feeds the flame of their torment, while his powerful presence and operation maintain their being, and render all their powers most acutely sensible, thus setting the keenest edge upon their pain, and making it cut most intolerably deep.” ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.10
The wicked shall perish. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. A double enunciation of the truth is couched in this short text. It is that eternal life is to be obtained only through Christ, and that all who do not thus obtain it, will eventually perish. John testifies further on the same point in his 1st epistle 5:11: “And this is the record: that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” From which it follows as a most natural consequence, that “he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” Verse 12. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.11
The wicked shall go to perdition. “We are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” Hebrews 10:39. We either gain the salvation of our souls by a perseverance in faith, and obtain eternal life by a patient continuance in well-doing [Romans 2:7], or we sink back into perdition, which is defined to be utter ruin or destruction. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.12
The wicked shall come to an end and be as though they had not been. “For yet a little while and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place and it shall not be.” Psalm 37:10. No; there will be neither a sinner nor any place for a sinner, after God has executed upon them his just judgments. “They shall be as though they had not been.” Obadiah 16. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.13
The wicked shall go down into death. “The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23. “Sin when it is finished bringeth forth death.” James 1:15. In Romans 2, Paul tells us of certain characters which are certainly worthy, if any can be, of eternal torture; but in passing sentence upon them, does he draw out before us a picture of unending conscious misery, a course for which he has the most appropriate occasion, if it be true? Not at all: he only tells us in accordance with reason as well as revelation, that they are worthy of death. But death is a state which can be reached only on a complete extinction of life. As long as there is any life about a man, he is not dead. “The death that never dies,” is a contradiction of terms. Nor can a person properly be said to be dying, unless he is tending to a state of death which he will by and by reach. And yet the popular view of this subject is well expressed in the following language of Thomas Vincent: “The torments of hell will not be in one part only, but in every part, not in a weaker degree, but in the greatest extremity; not for a day, or a month, or a year, but forever; the wicked will be always dying, never dead; the pangs of death will be ever upon them, and yet they shall never give up the ghost; if they could die they would think themselves happy; they will always be roaring and never breathe out their last; always sinking and never come to the bottom; always burning in those flames, and never consumed; the eternity of hell will be the hell of hell.” ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.14
But again the Lord says, speaking of a certain class of his enemies, “For yet a little while and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction” [Isaiah 10:25]; showing us conclusively that all those with whom the Lord has occasion to be angry, as he is with all the wicked [Psalm 7:11], will be finally destroyed, and in that destruction his anger towards them will cease. Yet the majority of divines tell us that God’s “fiery indignation and incensed fury” towards them will never cease; that he will never literally destroy them, but will forever torment them, and keep them alive expressly that he may torment them. Says Benson again, “He will exert all his divine attributes to make them as wretched as the capacity of their nature will admit.” And he continues, “They must be perpetually swelling their enormous sums of guilt, and still running deeper, immensely deeper in debt to divine and infinite justice. Hence after the longest imaginable period, they will be so far from having discharged their debt, that they will find more due than when they first began to suffer.” Thus the sinner is represented as being able to distance in sin the power of omnipotence to punish. They go on accumulating loads of guilt in their rebellion against the divine government, while God, exerting all his divine attributes, follows tardily after, in fruitless efforts to make the terrors of his punishment adequate to the infinitude of their guilt. O horrid picture of perverted imagination! Did we not believe its authors labored under the sincere conviction that they were doing God service, and did we not know that many good and estimable persons still defend the doctrine under an earnest though mistaken zeal for God, we should pronounce it the most arrant blasphemy. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.15
The wicked are compared to the most inflammable and perishable substances. Had the wicked been compared to the most durable substances with which we are acquainted in nature; had they been likened to the “everlasting hills,” the during rock, or the precious metals, especially gold, the most incorruptible of all substances; such comparisons would not have been without their weight in giving us an idea of an eternity of existence; nor can we think they would have been overlooked by the other side. We therefore claim an equal significance on our side of the question for the fact that they are everywhere compared to just the opposite of the above named substances-substances the most perishable and corruptible of any that exist. For no idea can be drawn from such comparisons at all compatible with the idea of eternal preservation in the midst of glowing and devouring fire. Thus they are likened to chaff [Matthew 3:12], stubble [Malachi 4:1], tares [Matthew 13:40], withered branches, to be burned [John 15:6], bad fish [Matthew 13:47, 48], and thistledown [Isaiah 17:3, margin]. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.16
The wicked shall be consumed and devoured by fire. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, etc. Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust! Isaiah 5:20-24. Reader, have you ever seen fire devour stubble, or flame consume chaff? Then you have seen a figure of the destruction of the wicked. And let the advocate of eternal misery tell us, if such language does not denote the utter consumption of the wicked, what language would do it, if the doctrine were true. Let us know what language Inspiration should have used, had it wished to convey such an idea. Is it such as this? “But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs; they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.” Psalm 37:20. “And they went up on the breadth of the earth and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” Revelation 20:9. The word here rendered devour, katephagen, says Stuart, is “intensive, to eat up, devour, so that it denotes utter excision.” In the light of this scripture we can readily understand how it is that the wicked are to be recompensed in the earth. Proverbs 11:31. Coming up in the second resurrection at the end of the 1000 years of Revelation 20:5, they come up around the New Jerusalem the beloved city, the abode of the saints, then descended from heaven to earth [chap. 21:5], and then their fearful retribution overtakes them. It is then that they have their portion in those purifying fires that sweep over the earth, in which, according to Peter’s testimony, the elements and this great globe itself shall melt with fervent heat. 2 Peter 3:10, 12. For it is at the day of Judgment [by which of course we must understand the execution of the Judgment] and perdition of ungodly men, that this takes place. See verse 7. So, too, the righteous as they go forth upon the new earth [verse 13], destined to be their eternal and glorious abode, will receive their recompense in the earth. Then will be fulfilled the word of the Lord by the prophet Malachi, which says, “For behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven: and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name, shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.” Mark the distinctness of this language. It does not say that the wicked shall be as ashes, nor does it introduce any comparison whatever, but plainly states a plain fact, that they shall be ashes, literally, under the soles of the saints’ feet. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 153.17
Then will the universe be clean and pure. Then the stain of sin will all be wiped away forever; sinners, and the great enemy that deceived them (for he, too, shall be destroyed, Hebrews 2:14) being rooted out of the land of the living. Its every scar now impressed upon the handiwork of God shall be effaced; and this unfortunate earth shall be re-adorned, as only God, omnipotent in power and omniscient in wisdom, is able to adorn it. And then will arise that glad anthem of universal Jubilee, in which shall join every creature, which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, ascribing blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. Revelation 5:13. There is no room here for a great receptacle of fiery torment, where an innumerable company of human beings shall burn and blaspheme and sin and suffer forever and ever. There is no room in this great song of joy for the discordant and hopeless wailing of the damned. There is no provision made for an eternal rebellion against the government of God, and eternal blasphemy against his name. No! only the loyal subjects of the great Captain of our salvation, only such as love life, and seek for it, and prepare themselves for its inestimable blessings, shall ever enjoy the glorious boon; while those who put from themselves the word of God, and “judge themselves unworthy of everlasting life” [Acts 13:46] will be remanded back to the original elements from which they sprung; and strict Justice will write upon their unhonored and unlamented graves that they themselves were the arbiters of their own fate. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 154.1
TWO ALLEGED AND FINAL DIFFICULTIES CONSIDERED
As in the ages before our existence we suffered no punishment, so it is claimed it will be no punishment to be reduced to that state again. To this we reply, that those who never had an existence cannot, of course, be conceived of in relation to rewards and punishments at all. But when a person has once seen the light of life, when he has lived long enough to taste its sweets and appreciate its blessings, is it then no punishment to be deprived of it? Is it no evil? is it no loss? Says Luther Lee, “We maintain that the simple loss of existence cannot be a penalty or punishment in the circumstances of the sinner after the general resurrection.” 1 And what are these circumstances? He comes up to the beloved city, and sees the people of God in the everlasting kingdom. Then, says the Saviour, addressing a class of sinners, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God. What is the cause of this wailing? It is not that they have to choose between annihilation or eternal torture. Had they this privilege, some might perhaps choose the former; others would not. But with eternal misery the sinner has nothing to do. That is but a thing of the imagination, and cannot enter in any wise into his account. The only conditions between which he can draw his cheerless comparisons are, the blessed and happy state of the righteous within the city of God, and his own hapless lot outside its walls. And we may well infer from the nature of the case, as well as the Saviour’s language, that it is because he finds himself thus thrust out, that he lifts up his voice in lamentation and woe. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God, and ye yourselves thrust out!” The sinner then begins to see what he has lost; the sense of it, like a barbed arrow, pierces his soul; and the thought that it might have been his but for his own self-willed and perverse career, sets the keenest edge upon every pang of remorse. And as he looks far away into eternity, to the utmost limit which the mind’s eye can reach, and gets a glimpse of the inconceivable blessedness and glory which he might have enjoyed, but for his idol sin, the hopeless thought that all is lost will be sufficient to rend the hardest and most obdurate heart with unutterable agony. Say not then that loss of existence under such circumstances is no penalty or punishment. Those who thus speak now, should it be their lot at last to try, in person, the truth of their statements, we venture to affirm would find their ideas of the subject intensely modified. At any rate, may it never be our lot, dear reader, to be brought to so fearful a test. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 154.2
But again: The Bible plainly teaches degrees of punishment; and how is this compatible, it is asked, with the idea of a mere state of death to which all alike will be reduced? Let us ask the believers in eternal misery how they will maintain degrees in their system. They tell us the intensity of the pain endured will be in each case proportioned to the guilt of the sufferer. But how can this be? Are not the flames of hell equally severe in all parts? and will they not equally affect all the immaterial souls cast therein? But God can interpose, it is answered, to produce the effect desired. Very well, then, we reply, cannot he also interpose, if necessary, according to our view, and graduate the pain attendant upon the sinner’s being reduced to a state of death as the climax of his penalty? So then our view is equal with the common one in this respect, while it possesses a great advantage over it in another; for while that has to find its degrees of punishment in intensity of pain alone, the duration in all cases being equal, ours may have not only degrees in pain, but in duration also; for while some may perish in a short space of time, the weary sufferings of others may be long drawn out. But yet, we apprehend, that the bodily suffering will be but an unnoticed trifle compared with that mental agony, that keen anguish which will rack their souls as they get a view of their incomparable loss, each according to his capacity of appreciation. The youth who had but little more than reached the years of accountability and died perhaps with just enough guilt upon him to debar him from heaven, being less able to comprehend his situation and his loss, will of course feel it less. To him of older years, more capacity, and consequently a deeper experience in sin, the burden of his fate, will be proportionately greater. While the man of giant intellect, and almost boundless comprehension, who thereby possessed greater influence for evil, and hence was the more guilty for devoting those powers to that evil, being able to understand his situation fully, comprehend his fate and realize his loss, will feel it most keenly of all. Into his soul indeed the iron will enter most intolerably deep. And thus, by an established law of mind, the sufferings of each may be most accurately adjusted to the magnitude of their guilt. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 154.3
But if death is the wages of sin, it is asked, when a man is once dead, why not let him remain so? Why should God raise him just to put him to death again? Does not this view make him as unjust and cruel as that which represents him as keeping sinners alive in hell for the express purpose of tormenting them? We answer, No; and for this reason: God has told us that we shall be brought to account for our own sins; but in order to this, we must have a resurrection to a future life; for the death we die here, we die in Adam and not on account of our personal transgressions. No one thinks, when death comes upon him here, that he is dying for his own sins, and that but for them he would live on. But the Bible tells us here in our lifetime that the soul that sinneth, it shall die, in addition to the death we die in Adam. We must therefore be raised from this first death to give account of ourselves to God. And he has told us that this time shall be to the sinner a time of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, a time of tribulation, distress and anguish of spirit, ending finally in death, from which no resurrection ever again will call him. We can only say therefore to this suggestion, that God will be faithful to his word. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 154.4
Then, says, one, the sinner will long for death as a release from his evils, and experience a sense of relief when all is over. No, friend, not even this pitiful semblance of consolation is granted you; for no such sense of relief will ever come. The words of another will best illustrate this point: ARSH October 6, 1859, page 154.5
“‘But the sense of relief when death comes at last.’ We hardly need to reply: there can be no sense of relief. The light of life gone out, the expired soul can never know that it has escaped from pain. The bold transgressor may fix his thoughts upon it now, heedless of all that intervenes; but he will forget to think of it then. To waken from a troubled dream and to know that it was only a dream, is an exceeding joy; and with transport do the friends of one dying in delirium, note a gleam of returning reason, ere he breathes his last. But the soul’s death knows no waking; its maddening fever ends in no sweet moment of rest. It can never feel that its woe is ended. The agony ends, not in a happy consciousness that all is past, but in eternal night,-in the blackness of darkness forever!” 2 ARSH October 6, 1859, page 154.6
Fearful scene! from a participation in which we would that all who read these pages might haste to make a timely and eternal escape. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 154.7
RECAPITULATION
Let us collect and note the conclusions to which the foregoing investigation has led us. We have found ARSH October 6, 1859, page 154.8
1. That man was not endowed in his creation with any inherent immortal principle; that immortality and eternal existence are never predicated of either the soul or spirit irrespective of character. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 154.9
2. That there is no inspired description of man in death, which represents him as a compound being surviving the dissolution of the body; but that the whole man is reduced to unconsciousness, and thus sleeps till the voice of Omnipotence shall bring him up again from the grave. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.1
3. That a resurrection is affirmed of the whole race. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.2
4. That the expressions used to describe the punishment of the wicked which then takes place; viz., the smoke of their torment ascending up forever and ever, everlasting and unquenchable fire, and a never-dying worm, were not such terms as would convey the idea of an eternity of existence to those who heard them; but on the contrary, according to the usus loquendi of the age in which they were spoken, they would denote the most utter and complete destruction of all objects to which they were applied. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.3
5. That eternal life is suspended upon conditions, and can never be obtained except through compliance with those conditions; that incorruption and immortality are yet to be put on, but not till the resurrection [1 Corinthians 15:53, 54]; that they are to be obtained alone through Christ, and consequently that all who are out of him will never receive them, but must on the other hand “reap corruption” [Galatians 6:8], die, be slain, be consumed, be destroyed, perish, be rooted out of the land of the living, be burnt up as withered branches, dried thorns, chaff and stubble, be ashes under the saints’ feet, and reach a state which so far as their existence is concerned, will be absolutely as though they had never been. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.4
And we hesitate not to affirm with the utmost assurance, that, in all these conclusions both reason and revelation stand fully with us. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.5
Are you then ready to inquire how it is that the doctrine of the soul’s immortality has come to be so generally received? We will tell you: It has been taken for granted! Says Bishop Tillotson, “The immortality of the soul is rather supposed or taken for granted, than expressly revealed in the Bible.” 1 “It is taken for granted” that immortality is an essential attribute of the soul, and that therefore for the Bible to affirm it would be mere tautology. But we reply, Is not immortality an essential attribute also of Jehovah? Yet the Bible has been tautological enough to plainly state this fact. And it would seem that it might have carried its “tautology” a little further, and told us as much, at least once, about the soul, if that too was immortal; for surely its immortality cannot be more essential than that of Jehovah. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.6
FALSE IMPRESSIONS CORRECTED
But nature everywhere revolts, we are told, against our doctrine of annihilation, and everywhere proves it false; for nothing has ever been, nor ever can be, annihilated. To which we reply, Very true; and here we would correct the impression which some seem to entertain, that we believe in any such annihilation of the wicked; or the annihilation of anything as matter. In reference to the wicked we simply affirm that they will be annihilated as living beings, the matter of which they are composed passing into other forms. The second definition of annihilate, according to Webster, is, “To destroy the form or the peculiar distinctive properties, so that the specific thing no longer exists; as, to annihilate a forest by cutting and carrying away the trees, though the timber may still exist; to annihilate a house, by demolishing the structure.” Just so of the wicked: as conscious intelligent beings they are annihilated, being resolved into their original elements. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.7
But many are ready to ask with apparent solicitude, Why preach this doctrine even if it be true? What good can result? and will not the tendency be evil? Or rather, to put it in the strong language of some, Its tendency will be evil; “it will make more infidels than Tom Paine’s Age of Reason; and no conversions to God will ever follow in the track of its blighting and soul-destroying influence.” We are acquainted with individuals who take this position, and who have expressed it in almost these words. But we are happy to know that such a view of the subject is an entire misapprehension; and we are still more happy to be able to correct it both from the testimony of our opponents and from our own observation. They entirely mistake the doctrine to which such charges belong. Would they but apply them to their own views, and we say it with all due deference, we apprehend they would be far nearer the truth. Concerning the tendency of the popular doctrine, the eminent Saurin at the close of one of his sermons, thus speaks: ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.8
“I sink, I sink, under the awful weight of my subject; and I declare, when I see my friends, my relations, the people of my charge,-this whole congregation, when I think that I, that you, that we all are exposed to these torments; when I see in the lukewarmness of my devotions, in the languor of my love, in the levity of my resolutions and designs, the least evidence, though it be only possible or presumptive, of my future misery, I find in the thought a mortal poison, that diffuseth itself through every period of my existence, rendering society tiresome, nourishment insipid, pleasure disgustful, and life itself a cruel bitter. I cease to wonder, that the fear of hell hath made some melancholy, others mad; that it hath disposed some to expose themselves to a living martyrdom, by fleeing from all commerce with the rest of mankind, and others to suffer the most terrible, violent torments.” ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.9
Such is the effect of the doctrine of eternal misery with some, according to the confession of its own advocates. No one can say that such effects are either good or desirable. And why does it not have this effect on more? We answer, It is because the lips only mechanically assent to what the heart and reason either will not try to realize, or else do not seriously believe. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.10
But the majority are affected by it far differently. Every better emotion of their nature revolts at the idea, and they will not accept it. They cannot believe that God is thus cruel, tyrannical, revengeful, implacable; the personification, in short, of every trait of character, which when seen in men here, we consider unmistakable marks of debasement and degradation. And believing the Bible and christianity to be identified with such teaching as this, with equal promptness they too are rejected and cast away. But here we need not enlarge. Probably no one will read these pages under whose observation some case has not come, of persons driven into skepticism, yes, driven and held there, by the popular doctrine of eternal misery. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.11
But how with the view we have tried to present? Quite the reverse as our own observation proves. Instances have come under our immediate knowledge of persons who, when they saw the divine harmony of God’s system of government, as brought to view in his word, when they saw the just and reasonable disposition which the Bible declares that he will make of all those who will persist in rebellion against him,-a disposition in which justice and mercy so beautifully blend, have been able to take that Bible and say that for the first time in their life they could believe it to be the book of God. And believing this, they have been led to turn their feet into its testimonies, and strive by obedience to its plain requirements to escape a doom which they could see to be just, and therefore know to be certain. This has been the experience of many. Let then the impression no longer exist, and the assertion no more be made, that these views tend to irreligion and infidelity. Their fruits everywhere show just the reverse. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.12
Can it then be wondered at that we should be solicitous to disabuse the minds of the people in this respect? Shall we not have a zeal for the Lord, and be untiring in our efforts to wipe off from the book and the character of God, the aspersions which are by this doctrine cast upon it? God represents himself to his creatures by his own sweet name of Love; he declares that he is very pitiful and of tender mercy, long-suffering and slow to anger, not hasty to execute sentence against an evil work, not gratified in any manner by the death of the wicked, and not willing that any should perish; he declares that he delighteth in mercy, that he will not contend forever, neither be always wroth. And can it be that while thus representing himself to the inhabitants of earth, he was kindling fiery torture on multitudes of wretched beings in the dreary regions of hell, feeding their flame with his incensed fury, preserving and tormenting them in infinite indignation, exerting all his divine attributes to make them as wretched as the capacity of their nature would admit, and maintaining a fixed purpose to do this, through the endless ages of eternity! If not, “what a portentous error must it be!” How fearfully is his character misrepresented! What a bold and audacious libel is uttered against his holy name! ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.13
The root and trunk of all this, is the “taken-for-granted” position that the soul is immortal. But search through your Bible and see if you find it so. See if you can find the death that never dies, never-dying soul, and endless torture. If not, we ask you to reject it at once as most dangerous and destructive error. Men are thus rejecting it. The leaven is working in the public mind. Men are growing suspicious of the truth of a declaration, first uttered by a doubtful character in Eden, perpetuated thence through heathenism, and at last through the medium of the Mother of harlots, disseminated through all the veins and channels of Orthodoxy. But truth will work its way up, however deeply the rubbish may have been heaped upon it; and before the bright rising of its light, all antiquated superstitions and traditionary dogmas will lie exposed in their native deformity. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.14
CONCLUSION
Before we take the parting hand, dear reader, if you are one whose peace is not yet made with God, allow us to second the tender entreaty which he extends to you, “Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die!” “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that he turn from his way and live.” Life and death are set before you. The Saviour bids you look unto him and live. Mercy entreats you to destroy not yourself. The Spirit and the Bride bid you come and partake of the water of life freely. You can no longer take refuge from an awakened conscience under the idea that the threatenings of the Lord are not understood, and may not therefore be so terrific as supposed. The sinner’s doom is unmistakably declared; and in the justness of that sentence, however slightly you may now realize the heinousness and just desert of sin, your own reason can but heartily concur. Will you then plunge headlong to ruin? or will you turn and accept the immense gratuity of eternal life? Of course you do not mean to perish. We accuse you not of this. The shining form of Hope is dancing on before you in the path of life-hope that ere it is too late, ere the silver cord be loosed or ever the golden bowl be broken, you will make sure a treasure and inheritance in heaven. We would impress upon your mind that this hope may deceive you. Ere you reach the delusive phantom, the earth may suddenly open beneath your feet, and Hades receive you to its fixed embrace. Ere you overtake the beckoning form, ere the good intention be carried out, ere you grasp the prize, now held only by the uncertain tenure of good resolve, the glory of the coming Judge descending through the parting and dissolving heavens, may suddenly burst upon your unprepared soul. Yes! the great voice from the temple of heaven crying, “It is finished!” may suddenly arrest you in the midst of your delaying and dallying career! The heavenly court of mercy may cease its sitting, ere you have made a friend of the great Advocate who alone can plead your cause! “Procrastination is the thief of time.” It may be the thief of your eternal bliss. Its every moment is high-handed and insane presumption. Its path is a path of unseen and innumerable dangers. You have no lease of your life. The present state is one of exposure and peril. The shafts of death are flying thickly about you. Time is short and its sands are swiftly falling. The bliss of heaven or the blackness of darkness forever shall soon be yours. With the saved or lost you must soon take your position. There is no intermediate ground. Choose then, we beseech you, the enduring portion. Choose for eternity, choose wisely, choose now. And may it be ours to join the great song of salvation at last, ascribing blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, unto Him who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb who hath redeemed us by his blood. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 155.15
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
“Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.”
BATTLE CREEK, MICH. FIFTH-DAY, OCTOBER 6, 1859.
NEW FIELDS
THE harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. Luke 10:2. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.1
These words of our Lord may be applied with force to the present time. The harvest is great. Our message is designed to go everywhere. “If any man worship the beast,” etc. The field of labor is vast, and the work great. The fields are already white. Spiritualism, with its infidelity, its nonsense and hellish blight, has swept over the land, and has carried away its thousands, but has left the more sober, candid, thinking classes, with an increased hungering and thirsting for the word of life. Popular revivals have blazed abroad, and for a time held the attention of the people, inspiring hope that the glorious time had commenced with the churches; but most of those professing conversion so soon falling away, time has proved the work as a whole spurious, and hope for better times for the churches is fast dying, and the real condition of fallen Babylon is becoming more apparent to the candid and discerning. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.2
Church festivals, fairs, pic-nics, donation-parties, exhibitions and theatrical performances to raise money for church purposes, have greatly increased since the revivals of 1858. These things exist in the greatest contrast with the religion taught by Christ and the apostles, which is preparing thousands to renounce the popular religion of the day, and embrace Bible truth and Bible religion. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.3
Yesterday we visited Agricultural hall where we have advertised to speak three times the 25th. The Congregationalist church had an exhibition in this hall last week, termed, “The Old Folks’ Concert.” One might guess from what was left in the hall that it was an impious affair. There was an imitation painting of an old fire-place, a spinning-wheel, oldest style chairs, an old basket knife-case, old waiters, etc. &. There was a large gathering, much pious fun, $180 raised for the benefit of the church!! ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.4
Such exhibitions of impiety show the real state of mind of the popular religionists of our day. They are in these things tearing from themselves the pious garb with which they have been covered, and are being seen in their true character. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.5
The fields are white. The time has come for laborers to enter them untrammeled by worldly cares. The word of life should be everywhere boldly proclaimed. The Lord of the harvest will take care of the results, if his servants do their duty. “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” Joel 2:1. “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Isaiah 58:1. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.6
Have we not some preachers among us who might do much good if they would enter new fields with a ready mind to labor faithfully, and suffer privations and hardships? It is easier and more pleasant for those on whom the “Woe is me if I preach not the gospel,” rests rather lightly, and who love an easy life, to visit from place to place among the brethren, and preach to a few on the Sabbath, than to break new ground and take that anxiety and spirit of labor on them necessary to accomplish anything. The scattered brethren, owing to their lonely state, are glad to see them, and entertain them cordially; time passes pleasantly, means is handed out to help them to the next place; but what is accomplished? A pleasant visit. Are not the churches benefited by such labor? Not at all. In almost every place where they have the labors of those who are evidently out of their place, who have health and strength to enter new fields, but remain on the same old ground, we find the brethren in a low, scattered, discouraged state. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.7
Again, this entering “into other men’s labors,” or “other men’s line of things made ready to our hands,” Paul was not guilty of. He says, “Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation.” Romans 15:20. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.8
Our venerable Bro. Bates was the first in this cause, and knows all the hardships and discouragements of its early existence. His labors were greatly blessed in New England, and he was the first to enter the great West. His numerous friends in the East would be extremely gratified to enjoy his labors and visits, and sustain him liberally. And there would appear the greatest propriety in his enjoying the fruits of his former labors, in his advanced years. But he is continually breaking new ground, laboring incessantly, preaching from five to ten times a week, and receiving a limited support. Last winter about fifty came out on the Sabbath under his labors. God sees all this, and a faithful record is kept in heaven. Says Jesus, “And, behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Thank God for that—“AS HIS WORK SHALL BE.” ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.9
Brethren in New England have erred. The Lord has been calling preachers West, and they should have followed them with their prayers, and their means as much as if they were laboring on New England ground. There has been too much of a disposition to make things go at some rate, hence conferences and tent-meetings have been held with little preaching help, and these efforts have done but little except to discourage, and the old ground has been gone over and over. If the means thus spent in New England to little or no profit, could be sent to help western missionaries, it would accomplish much with God’s blessing, and the donors would receive a reward. We have been surprised and grieved to learn how some have run from place to place on the cars, encouraging a fanatical spirit in burning daguerreotypes, etc., worse than wasting their Lord’s money, and leaving the brethren in distraction. Ours is the sad task of laboring to help them out. These things are cruel. Talk to them of helping western missionaries, and they have little or nothing to spare after liberally paying off those who helped them into trouble. Brn. Hutchins and Sperry are feeble in strength, hardly able to endure the labor of new fields. They should be nourished tenderly. Their manner of traveling by private carriage is economical and healthful. But we would suggest that it might be better for them and the church to attend church trials less, and labor in new fields more. Western brethren see so much to do, that they cannot spare the time to attend to church difficulties. In fact they have discovered a remedy for church difficulties. It is this: Dwell upon the great principles of truth, and holy living, mind their own business, instead of descending to the particulars of, and meddling with, other folks’ matters. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.10
Those who are just starting out to preach are the very last to occupy the old ground. They should enter new fields with an experienced brother. Here their gifts can grow, if they keep humble, and thus they can prepare to go out alone. Let those who are doing nothing enter new fields, and demonstrate to their brethren that God has called them, by raising up not only one here and there, but churches here and there, in a healthy, growing state. We solemnly protest against supporting men on the old ground, doing little or nothing, and neglecting brethren, and letting them suffer, who are raising up churches, breaking into new fields, with poverty and destitution all around them, and sometimes thankful for “Johnny-cake and stringbeans.” ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.11
Bro. Smith-you and the printers may be tired of this hasty penciling, and some of your readers may be displeased with such plain talk; but we are fully aroused to existing wrongs, and have just begun to free our mind. We shall give all a chance on this tour to hand in means for missionaries to enter new fields. We hope they will be ready. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.12
J. W.
Topsham, Me.
FROM FAITH TO INFIDELITY, By a Descent of four Steps
1. The day of the Sabbath has been changed. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.13
2. The Sabbath has been abolished. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.14
3. The ten commandments have been abolished. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.15
4. The Bible is abolished, superseded, and is of no more value than a last year’s almanac. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.16
To leap at once from faith to infidelity would be fearful. But by the use of these four steps, the descent is made easy; the distance from step to step being so small that a person walking in sleep (as most are) would not be awakened by the slight jar. The fourth step is no longer than the first; for the first is a denial of the truth of revelation. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.17
The descent is perfectly natural too. To a person standing on the first step, it is much easier to descend the remaining three, than to climb up the one to the platform of truth. Wanting Bible evidence to sustain him where he is, he takes the second step. He finds it easier to say that the Sabbath is abolished than to prove that it has been changed. He now claims Bible testimony, for he finds the word “abolished” in the Bible. 2 Corinthians 3. But the testimony says nothing of the Sabbath, only as it was one of the precepts “written and engraven on stones;” therefore he must take the third step, and say the ten commandments are abolished. This is but a short step; for if one of the ten is dead, why not all? And now, having plucked away the very heart and vitals of the Bible-its only moral code-and finding no evidence that any one of the commandments has ever been re-enacted, it is but a very little step from this to deny the Bible in toto. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.18
Reader, are you standing upon the platform of truth? Have you faith in the word of God, believing it means what it says, and practicing in accordance with the same? If so, hold fast; for you are built upon the rock. But are you standing upon one of the steps below? let me entreat you, as one who loves you, to make a mighty effort, imploring help from God, to reach the platform above. It will require a mighty effort; for, though the distance from step to step is small, the platform is very high above them all. It can only be reached by “repentance towards God,” whose holy law you have violated, and “faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ,” through whom alone you can find pardon and acceptance. Do be persuaded to make the effort. The lions which you see in the way will vanish at your approach, while, by faith, you walk steadily forward. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.19
And O, the prize! the rich reward! Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Have faith in God! for this is the victory that overcometh the world, even your faith. R. F. C. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.20
MEETING IN DANE CO., WIS
BRO. SMITH: According to appointment we went to Utica Corners, Dane Co., for the purpose of pitching the tent; But as the weather was cold and quite windy, and as we could be accommodated with the Seventh-day Baptist meeting-house, it was thought proper to occupy it instead of the tent. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.21
Here we commenced our meetings under discouraging circumstances. Much prejudice had been created in the place by the unjust course of some professed Advent preachers, our opposers. Only a few came out to hear at first; but the number gradually increased until the close of our meeting. Our views in relation to the destiny of man seemed to be in their way. This question was thoroughly investigated, and all prejudice seemed to give way before the power of Bible truth. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.22
This question being disposed of we were prepared to call the attention of the people to the great truths contained in the third angel’s message. Our Seventh-day Baptist brethren were much interested, and at the close of our meeting were willing to confess that they had seen great light on the Sabbath question as it was brought forth, and as it stands connected with prophecy. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.23
On the second first-day at 2 P. M. we met at Bro. Mills’ to take into consideration some business matters: and as those that had labored with the tent the past summer reported to the brethren the facts connected with the enterprise, it was decided by the brethren present that they had not been fully compensated for their labor; and feeling willing to help in this matter, as they had not ready means, it was thought proper to make choice of Bro. Joseph G. Wood to act as treasurer to whom they could send their donations when ready. His P. O. address is Broadhead, Green Co., Wis. I. SANBORN. WM. S. INGRAHAM. Monroe, Wis., Sept. 23rd, 1859. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 156.24
REPORT FROM BRO. HUTCHINS
BRO. SMITH: After our meetings in Canaan we went to Paris, where we found a few looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” On our way to this place we spent one night at Wilton with Bro. Bartlett, where we found a good place to rest our weary bodies. Our visit with this family, though short, was a choice one. Bro. and Sr. B. seem to love the truth, and also those who love it. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.1
Our meetings with the little church in Paris were interesting, and we think profitable. The few Sabbath-keepers here hold meetings every Sabbath. Here I parted with Bro. C. Woodman, who had been with me ten days, piloting me from place to place, and trying to help and comfort the children of God in their homeward journey. May a fervent love for the truth continue to burn in his heart. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.2
We spent five Sabbaths in Maine. Endeavored to do what we could to encourage the dear brethren and sisters to press forward for the unspeakable reward of eternal life, which is so quickly to be given. We feel very grateful for the acquaintance formed with our dear brethren and sisters in this State. We trust it may prove profitable to us and them. May He who remembers every cup of cold water given to his disciples, remember and graciously reward them. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.3
I have long felt a desire to visit the churches in Maine. This was my first opportunity. I should have been very glad to visit other places and doubtless should had my health been better. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.4
We left Maine to meet Bro. and Sr. White in Salem, Mass., where we were happy to meet them again. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.5
A. S. HUTCHINS.
South Lancaster, Mass., Sept. 29th, 1859.
A SUBJECT FOR THE TIMES
[We give the following article from the Independent of Sept. 22, 1859, merely to show how the minds of the people are being stirred up upon the subject of the destiny of the wicked. They can no longer tolerate the old idea of eternal misery, and are bound to exchange it for something else, as the many theories prove, which are springing up to take its place. Hence now is the time to urge upon the attention of the people, the true Bible doctrine.-ED.] ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.6
THE doctrine of future punishment has always been assailed or questioned by a class of professed believers in the Bible. Of course, all who reject the Biblical scheme of redemption, reject the idea of a retribution by positive legal sanctions, to take effect in a future and eternal world. Some, indeed, by their dislike of this doctrine, are led to reject the Bible, because it seems too plainly to teach eternal punishment. But among professed believers in divine revelation, there are not a few who have serious questionings as to the fact, the degree, the nature, or the duration of future punishment. These questioners are not found alone in the ranks of avowed Universalists; nor are they all comprised in the larger body of Spiritualists, whose theories of the future state appear to recognize no retributive dispensation. Dobney, the ablest advocate of the doctrine of annihilation, we believe is a Baptist minister. Whately, in some recent essays and discourses, has leaned to the idea that future existence is for the righteous only, and that the wicked will be consigned to a state of non-existence. Maurice, as is well known, rejects the doctrine of eternal punishment. Even Tholuck is supposed to be a Restorationist, and there are not a few of that school among English divines. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.7
There are many indications that the popular mind in this country is agitated upon all questions pertaining to the future state, and that skepticism as to the punishment of the wicked in the hereafter is widely prevalent. There are frequent traces of this form of skepticism in popular literature. It takes especially the form of a sentimental regard for the honor of God as a Father, and argues that the character of paternal love in which he presents himself, is inconsistent with the infliction of legal or judicial punishment, and admits at most only of paternal discipline. This view is urged by Dr. Holmes, in the Atlantic Monthly, with all the sophistry and pathos of which he is capable. It is subtily introduced in Harper’s Weekly, in a serial story from the pen of a distinguished writer of fiction. While it is not fair to charge upon Mrs. Stowe, before the completion of “The Minister’s Wooing,” any particular sentiment in Theology uttered by her characters, yet it is noticeable that in the chapters published in the September number of the Atlantic Monthly, she puts into the mouth of a mother lamenting the death of a son of whose conversion she was not well assured, the whole force of her logic kindled with all the earnestness of a mother’s love, to urge objections to the doctrine of future retribution, while she meets these objections only by the unintelligent faith of the old negro Candace. The strength of Mrs. Marvyn’s argument is, that the idea of eternal punishment is irreconcilable with the paternal character of God. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.8
Mr. Theodore Parker, Gerrit Smith, Esq., and Rev. Mr. Frothingham of this city, have recently published letters or discourses in which they urge the same plea-that because God is a Father he will not inflict upon his children retributive punishment in the future state. Indeed, some of these writers seem to regard the statement that God is a Father, as conclusive against the doctrine of eternal punishment. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.9
This view, proceeding from persons of large intelligence and influence, and urged in the name of a humane and philanthropic sentiment, has an effect upon the popular mind which cannot be disregarded by those who believe that the doctrine of eternal retribution is taught in the Scriptures, and has a vital place in the moral government of God. The people must be instructed in the character of God as the righteous Governor of the world, as well as the loving Father of his people. It is our firm conviction that the denial of eternal punishment leads to wavering and skepticism as to the exceeding demerit of sin, and the absolute necessity of sacrificial atonement; in a word, the denial of this doctrine argues the virtual rejection of the moral government of God, and of the whole system of redemption. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.10
No subject can be more important for pulpit instruction than this. We are glad to learn that some pastors in this city and elsewhere, are taking up the doctrine of retribution with earnest and thorough discussion. We need to hear again the voice and argument of an Edwards, a Bellamy, a Taylor, upon the law and government of God. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.11
SPIRITUALISM
THE most amusing case of Spiritual seduction we have seen is the following: ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.12
In 1856, Dr. T. L. Nichols, the well-known infidel, Spiritualist and Free-lover, was converted to the Catholic faith by the spirit of Ignatius Loyolla. A short time after this, however, at a circle, at which Mrs. Anna Denton Cridge (I think) presided, the spirit of Dr. T. L. Nichols (who was a Catholic and alive and well) came up and said he was not a Catholic; that Ignatius Loyolla had taken advantage of him and ejected him from his body, and was now teaching through his body a doctrine which he (the Doctor) had always abhorred. What was worse than all, the spirit of the dead priest had caused the spirit of Mrs. Mary Gove Nichols to believe that he was the veritable Dr. Nichols, and thus converted her to the same faith. There are several spirits clubbed together, said the spirit, to eject the unlawful tenant from the Dr.’s body, and to aid the Dr. in getting possession of his own body again. We might at least suppose that the Dr, is not as happy in the spirit world as he once thought he should be. Poor, helpless, bodiless spirit! He must stand and see doctrines palmed off for his which he always abhorred. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.13
D. W. HULL.
The citizens of heaven are strangers upon earth.
THE REVIVAL IN IRELAND
IT is not only proper to understand as far as we can what is going on in the world, but it is our imperative duty, in order that we may stand prepared for the events that await us. The signs of the present times do presage events, solemn and important. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.14
Among the strange and sudden movements that characterize the present time, none are more significant than the religious movements of the past two, and the present years. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.15
That a religious excitement has passed over our land, that tens of thousands have been added to the nominal churches within a year or two, is familiar to all. What the character of this movement is, time will soon determine. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.16
The New York Tribune of Aug. 27, 1859, gives a report of a work going on in the north of Ireland, said to be the most wonderful of any religious movement in the church’s history in modern times. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.17
The work is characterized by a union of all sects, as in this country last year. Prayer-meetings are established, multitudes attend at all hours of the day and evening, and on all days of the week. As many as 40,000 people assembled in the city of Belfast at the Botanical Gardens for prayer on one occasion, and spent the day in religious worship. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.18
People are struck down in a moment. In one case fifteen individuals were struck down while a man was praying with great earnestness. At another place while one prayed that the Holy Spirit might descend as with fire, a flash of lightning which filled the building at the moment, struck the congregation with awe; and trembling with terror they prostrated themselves upon the floor. Out of 700 there were one hundred convicted. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.19
There are uncommon and singular phenomena attending this work, which characterize it more or less everywhere. Persons are struck in a moment with the most overwhelming sense of sin and danger. This is sometimes followed by entire prostration of bodily strength, and in all cases by the most acute anguish. People are borne out of these meetings in numbers, some fainting, some moaning heavily, some shuddering in every muscle, some in spasms and in fearful agony, crying for mercy. All classes, high and low, rich and poor, young and old, participate in the movement, and for the time a revolution seems to be taking place in morals among the people. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.20
The above brief gleanings from the Tribune, show that a powerful agency is at work on the other side of the great waters. Those understanding the close of prophetic time in 1844, the cleansing of the sanctuary, and the work of our high priest in the time of the end, may be able in a measure to account for these novel proceedings. “The wise shall understand.” Thank God for the precious promise. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.21
The close intimacy this work has with the popular current, ignoring the Sabbath, ignoring the prophetic periods, and its popularity, with its secular turn, the union of men of different denominations, who will soon contend for what they call non-essentials, as we shall see, all speak significantly of the nature of the work. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.22
Consider Spiritualism, with its accompanying evils, consider these modern revivals, which have terminated so abortively in this country, consider the world’s false peace, so pregnant with future wars, in connection with the message of the third angel, and the light that emanates from it, and how clear it all looks. Have we not been apprised of this state of things, even before the event came? If so, may we not receive the truth and practice upon it? Surely the event is near at hand. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.23
J. CLARKE.
Meditation on the Word of God
BY continual meditations on the sacred writings, a man as naturally improves and advances in holiness as a tree thrives and flourishes in a kindly and well watered soil. All the fruits of righteousness show themselves at the proper season, as opportunity calls them; and his words, which are to his actions what the leaves are to the fruit, fall not on the ground, but are profitable as well as ornamental. Everything in him and about him serves the end for which it was intended.-Horne. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 157.24
From the SABBATH RECORDER
A RIDDLE SOLVED
‘Tis said a sage in days of yore,
Proud of the glossy cue he wore,
Did wonder much, and sorrow more,
Because it hung behind him.
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.1
And, musing on his hapless case,
He vowed the cue should change its place,
And hang before his handsome face,
Not dangling there behind him.
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.2
Says he, “The way to do’t I’ve found!
I’ll turn me round;” he turned him round,
And round, and round, and round, and round;
But still it hung behind him.
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.3
And round, and round, and out and in,
All day, the puzzled sage did spin
In vain; it mattered not a pin,
His cue yet hung behind him.
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.4
And though his efforts never slack,
And though he twist, and twirl, and tack;
There in its place, upon his back,
His cue still hangs behind him.
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.5
So reads the riddle; thus ‘tis solved:
The PURITAN of yore resolved
To make last, first; and then revolved
To bring before, behind him.
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.6
He was this sage, so wondrous wise,
Who thought God’s order to revise,
And bring that round before his eyes,
Which should be left behind him.
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.7
The Sabbath law he sought to change -
With twist and turn, tried to arrange,
To bring before him-O how strange!
A day that was behind him.
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.8
To rest before his work begun!
And turn a seven into one!
He’s whirled and twisted, tacked and spun;
But still he finds behind him,
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.9
The day he wants to find before;
And seven is seven, forevermore,
And one is one-and, as of yore,
His cue still hangs behind him.
J. L. HATCH.
ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.10
THE BIBLE DEFENDED
[THE following eloquent extract from Dr. J. F. Berg, in a Discussion with the Infidel, Barker, on the subject of the Bible, will be of interest to all our readers.-ED.] ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.11
According to the code which regulates public disputations, I am not at liberty to introduce any new topic in the closing speech. I shall, therefore, confine myself to some remarks, recapitulating the points of the discussion, and appealing to all within the sound of my voice, to cherish the Bible as a precious gift beyond all price that can be named in its influence upon the dearest interests of humanity. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.12
The superiority of the Christian revelation over the traditional revelation of deism, is manifest in the fact that the one rests its hopes for the future on a positive basis, whilst the other is built upon a negation of every thing supernatural. This is not philosophical, as the very existence of nature establishes the fact of a supernatural and overruling power as the originator of this glorious frame-work, the government of the intellectual and moral part of the creation of God, would call for a corresponding indication of the divine will and purpose, in clothing it with those subtle attributes which are spiritual and immortal. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.13
We have shown that man’s nature leads him to worship; that his character becomes assimilated to the being which he worships; and that whenever man has been left merely to his own resources, his course has been a downward one of superstition, abominable idolatry and licentiousness. We have proved that man possesses no resources by which to extricate himself from this miry abyss-that art and science could not do it-that philosophy could not do it-that all philosophy ever effected towards the deliverance of the race was to make atheists of idolaters. I have shown that before any religion can challenge universal obedience or assent, it must be invested with the marks of superhuman authority-that it must be accredited of God by indications that shall attest its divine origin. Hence the necessity for miracles and prophecy is a philosophical necessity. The Bible, to be of God, must bear not only internal evidence of its divine origin, but external also. My opponent utterly denies the superhuman authority of the laws, doctrines and institutions of Christianity. Then I have shown that he has no foundation upon which he can build the authority of law at all. Laws of merely human origin, depending on no eternal principles of divinely revealed and divinely attested right, are no laws at all. Men may make, and men may unmake them. Without a law from God, one man’s authority is as good as any other’s; and thus anarchy stalks forth upon her work of desolation, and, amid the ruins of civil freedom and social order, and the sad wrecks of domestic purity and peace, the grand negation of infidelity stand confessed as an accumulation of positive horror, desolation and woe-a calamity of direst influence upon all the relations of life. I have shown that to deny a superhuman revelation places the infidel in the sad predicament of utter inability to announce the name of a specific God, or to account for the harmony of the attributes ascribed to the deistical idea of a Supreme Being, or even to tell what those attributes are, or even to show, with any degree of certainty, what object the Supreme Being (if, indeed, there be one in his creed), proposed in the infidel’s creation. I have endeavored to show you that the internal evidences of the Scriptures sustain its claims; that the alleged contradictions offered by infidel assailants are captious cavils; that these apparent discrepancies are often the result of the employment of language accommodated to human infirmity; and that the argument by which such accommodation is denounced as pernicious, is neutralized by the clear and positive declarations that God, as God, is not subject to the passions, or arrayed in the form of humanity, so that they who would pervert the Bible on this account, do it in the face of its own protest. I have shown that the more closely Bible history is studied, the more clearly is the verity of its facts established; for it has been manifest that the infidel objections against the Mosaic account of the deluge and the ark, paraded with so much pomp of authority, are idle and absurd. In short regarding the purity of its morals-the dignity of its style-the varied extent of its subjects-the harmony between the laws of the Bible and the operations of Providence-the clear and distinct explanations of phenomena, such as the introduction of sin, sickness, misery and death into the world, which, without the scriptural solution, are problems which infidelity can never unravel or reconcile with the idea of a God who governs in accordance with the laws of justice and mercy-regarding, I say, all these things and the want of man’s nature which seeks for and feels after the light beyond the grave, furnished in the gospel; and then, above all, the glorious example of Christ, so pure, lovely and gentle, startling the world by a blaze of celestial glory, when the midnight darkness of corruption was blackest, and calling men to the faith of the gospel by the most wonderful attestations of divine power, in working miracles, and blessing the poor and the outcast with the sweet mercies of heaven, and offering to sinful man the wondrous plan of redemption through the blood of the cross, fulfilling the plainest predictions in the circumstances of his own life and sufferings, death and resurrection; and himself predicting events which were literally accomplished, not only in the terrestrial fulfillment of his mediatorial work, but after his ascension into heaven;-regarding all these things, and the consistent testimony of evangelists, disciples and apostles, who sacrificed all for Christ and the gospel, and lived and died in the defense and the faith of it, and gave the best practical testimony in the holiness of their lives, that they were the messengers of God and of Christ, I cannot conceive of any amount of rational doubt that must not yield before the pressure of this flood of testimony. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.14
We love this Bible! We can conceive no direr calamity to the race than to be deprived of its pure morality! and we know of no blacker gloom, even in imagination, than that which pours its shadow over the soul when the weary spirit is breaking through the dissolving walls of its earthly house, unsolaced by this light of life. No Bible! Oh! horrid deprivation! No Bible!! Then is this world one grand enigma-a tangled tissue of contradictions, unanswered and irreconcilable. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.15
I see the flowers springing from the warm bosom of the earth, and lifting their meek eyes towards heaven, and I say-surely there is a God, and this fragrance is earth’s incense of praise! I hear the birds singing among the branches, happy and free, rejoicing in the pure air and sunlight of the bright heaven, and I say-surely there is a God, and this music is nature’s anthem of thanksgiving. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.16
I look out upon the furrowed field, and the springing corn smiles its blessing upon the God who sends the soft showers in their season. I see the joy of the harvest, and the golden sheaves praise him, and the fruitful trees praise him, and in full concert all his works declare that he is good. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.17
But I hear a cry of anguish-it is the moaning of an infant gasping in its mother’s arms-I see it pale and quivering in its agony-I hear the wail of sorrow which woman alone can utter, as she bows to weep over the dead whom she has borne. This world-what is it? A wilderness of graves! a mighty charnel house! from which groans of pain and sorrow are forever rising to the heavens; and I ask, “Is this world governed by one God who is good, and by another who is evil?” And is the evil mightier than the good? Wretched man that I am! How shall I appease the wrath of the malignant being who wars thus continually against human happiness, and finally prevails, so that men die; and dying, shall they ever live again? ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.18
What answer shall I give? Shall they live again? and if they do, will that life be a blessing or a curse? What can I say? There is no Bible! and every grave confounds me-the joys of life perplex me-its sorrows depress me. I am afraid to live-I dare not die! Oh! what can I do without the Bible? What can I know without it, that shall still the eager questionings of the restless spirit, that is beating like a caged bird against these earthen walls-struggling after the purer, wider range of its immortal sphere? I know nothing, except that I am a child of sorrow and an heir of death. I can do nothing but regret my existence, and submit to my fate! ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.19
So says the infidel but not so the Christian. This world is no enigma to him. He cannot explain every detail, but he can see a glorious harmony between the operations of Providence and the testimony of the Bible. He knows that God is good. He knows that God is holy-that moral law has its penalty for transgression as surely as natural laws have theirs; and therefore he knows there will be sorrow where there is sin; but then, he learns this is not remediless. Christ has repaired the ruin and provided the remedy. It is faith in him as the author of a new life that is mightier than the power of death. It is faith which binds the soul to Christ, and raises it through all these scenes of sorrow to the joy of the heavenly inheritance! Let us cherish this Bible! Let us read it-its words are as pure as silver refined. Its precepts are as apples of gold; and, in keeping its commands there is infinite reward. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.20
Let America keep the Bible, and the Bible will keep America. It will be the salt of divine truth that shall rectify the tendencies to moral corruption, whether in the family, in society, or in civil government, and it shall save the land from infidel licentiousness and misrule. Remember that God no sooner caused any part of his will or word to be written, than he also commanded it to be read, not only in the family, but also in the congregation, “that they might hear, and that they might learn, and fear the Lord their God, and observe to do all the words of this law.” Defend! protect! and love the Bible, and the God of the Bible will cause his presence to be your glory; and upon that glory shall be the defense of his own Almighty arm! God grant to you all the blessings promised in his word, to them that love his truth; and ever save our country from the blasting mildew of infidel folly and falsehood. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.21
My opponent may deride the faith of Christians as sheer submission to the frauds of a Protestant priesthood, but so long as ministers of the gospel enjoin upon all men the duty of searching the Scriptures, we can let this assertion pass with others alike unfounded, and leave our faith and character to the ordeal of that day, when the fire shall try every man’s work what it is; and the ways and the word of God shall be finally and forever vindicated.-pp.253-258. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 158.22
“TO GODLINESS, ADD BROTHERLY-KINDNESS.”
MUST we then have faith, and virtue, and knowledge, and temperance, and patience, and godliness, before we can show forth the heavenly grace of brotherly-love? Even so. And therefore there is so little brotherly-love in the church. We can pray solemnly and do great works, we can teach and contend for the faith, we can give generously and show great zeal for God, we can control our passions and suffer patiently, sooner than we can love each other with pure hearts and fervently. If brotherly-love were the love of our fellow-members for our own sakes, we could find that; but love to them for the Lord’s sake and their own sakes is not to be met with every day. It is something added even to godliness; for it is easier for the soul to move freely towards God than towards his erring children. But God will not endorse our godliness until it gives proof of itself in unfeigned love to the brethren. Every sincere and loving child of God must become a sincere and loving brother. To love our fellow Christians because they are like us, or because they agree with us, is but self-love, not brotherly-love. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.1
Very little brotherly-love is possible in a divided church. We must be careful, therefore, that the division in christendom have not a place in our heart. If our affections are subject to the limits of our creed, or of our own denomination, or of any human compact, it will happen that we shall exclude from our sympathy many true brethren of Christ, and on the other hand embrace “false brethren” because they belong to our party. Brotherly-love does not consist in loving those who follow with us, and in disliking those who follow not with us. Brotherly-love is to love men because they are Christ’s. If we desire to bring any one into bondage to our views, or to our forms of worship, or methods of labor, it shows that our own spirit, rather than the Spirit of Christ, is Lord over us. “Who art thou that judgest thy brother?” His Lord and thy Lord requires thee not to judge him, but to love him. Follow thou the Master. And leave John to follow the Master not according to thy liberty, but according to the liberty which the Master gives to him. He is the Lord’s freeman. If he has less freedom than thou hast, love him; if he has greater, love him; if he is a strong brother, love him; if he is a weak brother, love him. Love will work no ill to him. Beware that thou judge him not. Love him. Brotherly-love should unite east and west; for the same sun which rises in the east visits also the west. In the morning, the east has more light, in the evening, the west has more. At noon-day, east and west are equal. It remains yet for brotherly-love to bring about the noon-day of the church.-Rev. John Palsford. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.2
THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS
SOME of the brilliant Deistical writers of our age deny the possibility of the forgiveness of sin, and assert that the promises of the Bible on this point are deceptive, and lead to licentiousness. But every troubled conscience, burdened with a sense of guilt, turns eagerly to the word of God, and finds its only relief in the assurance of forgiveness through the atoning blood of Christ. The following incident in Luther’s life is in point: ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.3
It is related of Luther that, under his first deep convictions of sin, he received much light and aid from the intelligent and kind Staupitz, who gave him a Bible, and told him to study its pages. Yet, through failure to comprehend distinctly the way of salvation, the earnest monk was still far from peace. His conscience was agitated by a fearful sense of sin. So sore was his conflict, that his health gave way, and he was brought to the gates of the grave. His anguish and terrors redoubled at the prospect of death. He was painfully distracted by a vivid apprehension of his own impurity and God’s holiness. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.4
While he lay in the convent thus overwhelmed with despair, an old monk, as Melanethon relates, entered his cell, and won his confidence, so that Luther opened his heart and disclosed all his fears which disquieted him. The old man, with the utmost simplicity, referred him to the Apostles’ Creed, and uttered aloud this article, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.5
These simple words so artlessly recited, came to Luther like good news from a far country, and shed sweet consolation in his heart. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.6
“I believe,” he repeated to himself on his bed of suffering, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.7
“Ah,” said the monk, “you must not only believe that David’s and Peter’s sins are forgiven; the devils believe that. It is God’s command that we believe in the forgiveness of our sins.” ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.8
He then added, “Hear what St. Bernard says in his discourse on the Annunciation: the testimony which the Holy Ghost applies to your heart is this, ‘Thy sins are forgiven thee.’” ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.9
This was a word in season. At once light shone into the soul of the young monk at Erfurth. He drew nigh to God in faith, and thenceforth the peace of God which passeth all understanding, kept his heart and mind through Jesus Christ. He realized the pardon of sins as a personal blessing; and this is the only thing which can give life, light, and joy. There is no true religion unless a man is accepted and saved. Faith, simple faith, is the only requisite.-Sel. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.10
Fate of the Apostles
MATTHEW is supposed to have suffered martyrdom, or was put to death by the sword at the city of Ethiopia. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.11
Mark was dragged through the streets of Alexandria, in Egypt till he expired. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.12
Luke was hanged upon an olive tree, in Greece. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.13
John was put into a cauldron of boiling oil at Rome and escaped death. He afterwards died a natural death at Ephesus, in Asia. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.14
James the great was beheaded at Jerusalem. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.15
James the less was thrown from a pinnacle or wing of the temple, and then beaten to death with a fuller’s club. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.16
Phillip was hanged up against a pillar at Hierapolis, a city of Phyrgia. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.17
Bartholomew was flayed alive by the command of a barbarous king. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.18
Andrew was bound to a cross, whence he preached to the people till he expired. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.19
Thomas was run through the body by a lance, near Malipar, in the East Indies. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.20
Jude was shot to death with arrows. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.21
Simon Zelotes was crucified in Persia. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.22
Matthias was stoned and then beheaded. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.23
Three Fools
C. H. SPURGEON after describing two fools-a wounded soldier who should stop to inquire with what kind of a sword he was wounded, and a sea captain in a storm stopping to speculate upon the philosophy of wind introduces a third as follows: ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.24
The third fool I shall doubtless find among yourselves. You are sick and wounded with sin, you are in the storm and hurricane of Almighty vengeance, and yet the question which you would ask of me this morning would be, “Sir, what is the origin of evil?” You are mad, sir, spiritually mad; that is not the question you would ask if you were in a sane and healthy state of mind. Your question would be, “How can I get rid of the evil?” Not, “How did it come into the world?” but, “How am I to escape from it?” Not, “How is it that fire descended from heaven upon Sodom?” but, “How may I, like Lot, escape out of the city to a Zoar?” Not, “How is it that I am sick?” but “Are there medicines that will heal me? Is there a physician to be found that can restore my soul to health?” Ah! you trifle with subtleties while you neglect certainties. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.25
CRIME.-It is a startling fact, that the terrible crime of murder is greatly on the increase. Suicide, too, is becoming a species of mania, and wife-beating on an atrociously brutal scale appears to be running riot. The annals of the criminal and police courts are rife with accounts of barbarous wife or husband slaying, and with the painful records of self-destruction. The daily province of police magistrates seems to be to adjudicate on incessant charges of infamous brutality preferred by wives against their ruffianly husbands, fellows who, without any real provocation, employ clenched fist and nailed boots to injure, sometimes fatally, those whom before God they have sacredly sworn to love and to cherish. Coroners were never more busy with inquests on butchered individuals or self-murderers than now. Of late the judges have donned the fatal black cap with almost the terrible frequency they did in the dark and guilty “blood money” days, and the grim hand that strangles according to law has no lack of employment. Turn which way we will, the thrilling cry of murder rings in our ears.-London Times. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.26
Kind Words
“Kind words are perhaps to cheer, by their memory, a long, sad, life; while words of cruelty, or carelessness, are like swords in the bosom, wounding and leaving scars which will be borne to the grave by their victim. Do you think there is any bruised heart which bears the mark of such a wound from you? If there is a living one which you have wounded, hasten to heal it; for life is short-to-morrow may be too late.” ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.27
Letters
“Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another.”
From Bro. Butler
BRO. SMITH: Perhaps many anxious brethren and friends of the precious cause of present truth have waited with interest for a report of the labor and success of the Ohio tent, and wondered why a definite report has not been given. The reasons are these: It appeared to be duty for Bro. Waggoner, in an ill state of health, to leave the tent while at Wauseon for home, before the result of the efforts in that place was known, and consequently he could not give a more definite report than he did. The next day after our labors were ended I was taken with the chill-fever, which rendered me unable to report sooner; but to those interested we would say that when we left for home (Aug. 23rd) there were some forty in the vicinities of Delta and Wauseon who had firmly decided to live the truth, and many others much interested. The places are only eight miles distant from each other, so the brethren can frequently enjoy the pleasure of meeting at one place, to strengthen, encourage and edify one another. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.28
Our prayer is that the Lord will water the word, and bring out others to glorify his name by righteous living, and that those already decided may be strengthened, settled, confirmed and established in the present truth, and kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.29
T. J. BUTLER.
Gilboa, O., Sept. 21st, 1859.
From Bro. Lawrence
BRO. SMITH: I have joined Bro. D. T. Bourdeau of late in several efforts to spread the truth, in portions of this county, where it is mostly new to both French and Americans. The peace-crying professors have made special efforts to fortify against us and the doctrines we teach; yet several say they find no evil in these men, and wish to hear, not being pleased with the efforts made to crush us. It is certain to my mind that we have a work to do, let the cost of the same be what it may. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.30
I have not made up my mind for a cheap or easy time in the coming conflict, but the reverse. I have long felt that conflict must precede victory. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.31
I have my trials, yet I trust I am at this time more than ever willing to learn, do and suffer, anything in the way of duty, that will benefit myself or others. I have an increasing desire to visit different counties where I have traveled in the past. Brethren may be assured of my interest in this cause and their welfare. I hope to be thankful forever that the Lord does not pass us by without the counsel necessary to our salvation. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.32
H. W. LAWRENCE.
W. Bangor, N. Y., Sept. 21st, 1859.
OBITUARY
DIED in Norfolk, Ct., Sept. 13th, my dear aunt, Rosana Cook, in the 61st year of her age. She was a lover of the truths which the Review advocates, and expressed strong confidence in God. She bore her sickness with fortitude and Christian patience. Her disease was consumption. I expect to see her again, if faithful, in the morning of the resurrection. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 159.33
MARY E. BEACH.
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
BATTLE CREEK, MICH., FIFTH-DAY, OCTOBER 6, 1859.
Information Wanted
ONE Isaac G. Soule has sent us two letters concerning books. The first letter containing no remittance to cover his order, received no particular attention. Some time afterward he sent us five dollars, but by this time the first letter containing the order had been mislaid. We immediately wrote to him inquiring what books we should send for his $5, directing our letter to “Gaines, Genesee Co., Mich.,” the place at which his was dated. To this letter, written in April last, we have received no reply. If any brother can inform us where we can reach this person by letter, or, if any one can get word to him to inform us what books he would like, and where we shall send them, the assistance will be thankfully received. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.1
THERE is a call for labor from West Lebanon, Warren Co., Ind. A preacher would find a home at the house of R. Purviance. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.2
G. Dunham writes from Eaton Rapids, Mich., that several in that place are waiting for a visit from some preacher, that they may go forward in the ordinance of baptism. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.3
A Circular
[WE regret that the following circular did not reach us in season to render its insertion of any benefit to the object for which it was issued. We give it, however, as it will be a matter of interest to our readers to learn the move that has been on foot in Wisconsin.-ED.] ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.4
“DEAR CHRISTIAN BROTHER: At a meeting of Christian brethren, held in Dane County, Wisconsin, August 22nd, for the purpose of mutual consultation upon the peculiar positions of such as hold to the perpetuity of the Ten Commandments of Jehovah, and the near approach of the Second Coming of Christ to set up the everlasting kingdom of the God of heaven, so long foretold by the prophets of Jehovah, and by Christ and his apostles: it was determined to call a general conference of believers in these doctrines, to hold a free consultation on our present positions, and the best methods of propagating them to the world, to be holden at Edgerton, Dane County, Wisconsin, commencing at 1 o’clock P. M., on the sixth day of the week, September 30th, next, when you, and all who are of like faith, are invited to attend and participate in the same. From all who are interested in these things, and unable to attend, are solicited written communications for the conference, addressed to our committee. J. P. MILLARD, Edgerton, Wis. D. H. HILTON, ” “ ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.5
“N.B.-Edgerton is a station village on the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad, seventy miles from Milwaukee, and 110 from Chicago. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.6
“M. SOUTHWICK, Chairman.
“SAMUEL DAVISON, Clerk.
“Madison, August 23rd, 1859.”
Meetings in Burns, Mich
DEAR BRO. SMITH: After our conference closed in Owasso, we commenced a series of meetings about twenty miles distant, in Burns, Shiawassee Co., in Bro. J. P. Rathbun’s new barn, which continued evenings from the 7th to the 18th inst. Some appeared considerably troubled about the Bible truth as they heard it, while some others said, well, the Sabbath is clear. Some were kept back from deciding by their companions. One came out decidedly to keep the Sabbath. Some of the brethren from Locke and Conway were with us on Sabbaths and first-days. Two were baptized, and the little company in the vicinity were blessed in celebrating the ordinances of the Lord’s house. We hope to hear that some who became deeply interested will break away from their erring friends, and take a decided stand on the Lord’s side. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.7
From Sept. 19th to 21st, we were with the church again in Green Bush, where the ordinance of baptism was attended to. Here, as in Burns, we had to travel six miles to find a stream of water, and there amidst the raging tempest, and streaming heavy rain of Wednesday, 21st inst., seven were buried with their Lord by baptism, and made happy and joyful in God. From thence (the storm continuing) we returned to Bro. David Richmond’s, where the church were further blessed in celebrating the ordinances of washing feet and the Lord’s supper. Praise his holy name. From thence we departed for Orleans. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.8
JOSEPH BATES.
Matherton, Ionia Co., Sept. 27th, 1859.
APPOINTMENTS
General Meeting in Ohio
A general meeting will be held, Providence favoring, at Lovett’s Grove, Wood Co., to commence on sixth-day, Oct. 14th, and continue to the 17th. Provision will be made for the accommodation of all who will attend, and all are invited. Let every church be represented in this meeting. Important business will be considered. Those coming by R. R. from the east will stop at Perrysburg. Those from the south on the Dayton road will stop at Pecktown station, four miles west from Bro. Holt’s. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.9
We would remind both brethren and sisters that this meeting is not appointed for the purpose of visiting, eating and drinking, but to worship God, and labor in his cause. Come in the spirit of prayer, and endeavor to bring the blessing of the Lord with you. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.10
J. H. WAGGONER.
G. W. HOLT.
Conferences in Iowa
PROVIDENCE permitting, we will meet with the churches of eastern Iowa, in conference, as follows: ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.11
At Dayton or Richmond, Washington Co. (where the brethren may appoint), commencing Friday Oct. 7th, at 2 o’clock, P. M., and continuing over Sabbath and first-day. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.12
At Mt. Vernon, Lynn Co., commencing Friday Oct. 14th, at 2 o’clock, P. M., and continuing three days. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.13
We desire to see all the brethren and sisters in that part of the state at one or the other of these meetings. It is desired also that Brn. Graham, Brinkerhoof and D. W. Hull should attend with us if possible. M. E. CORNELL. M. HULL. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.14
Providence permitting I will meet in conference with the church at Catlin, Chemung Co., N. Y., commencing sixth-day, Oct. 14th, at 6 o’clock P. M., and continuing over Sabbath and first-day. It is desired that there should be a general gathering of the brethren and sisters in that vicinity. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.15
F. WHEELER.
Providence permitting, there will be a Conference at Deerfield, Steele Co., Minnesota, to commence Oct. 14, 1859, at 2 o’clock P. M., and hold over Sabbath and first-day, and as much longer as thought proper. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.16
Another Conference will be held at Bro. Moses W. Porter’s, five miles north of Mantorville, Dodge Co., Minnesota, commencing Oct. 21st, at 2 o’clock P. M., and continuing over Sabbath and first-day. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.17
I hope our friends will come together praying that success may attend our efforts to spread the truth in Minnesota. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.18
WM. S. INGRAHAM.
Providence permitting, we will meet with the brethren in General Conferences as follows: ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.19
| Berkshire, VT., | ” | 15,16. |
| Buck’s Bridge, N. Y., | ” | 19. |
| Mannsville, ” | ” | 22,23. |
| Brookfield, (Bro. Abbey’s) N. Y., | ” | 29,30. |
| Lapeer, Mich., | Nov. | 5, 6. |
| North Plains, ” | ” | 8-10. |
| Wright, ” | ” | 12,13. |
We shall expect Bro. Loughborough to join us at the Lapeer Conference, and be with us at North Plains, Wright and Monterey. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.20
Meeting at North Plains will commence in the evening of Nov. 8th. At Buck’s Bridge, at 1 P. M. JAMES WHITE. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.21
We are glad for the appointment given by Bro. White for a conference to be held in Berkshire, Vt. Brethren and sisters in this State, and Northern Y. Y., are all invited to attend. We especially invite Brn. D. T. Bourdeau, M. B. Czechowski, and C. O. Taylor to be present at this conference. It is expected that the brethren coming from a short distance will be prepared to take care of themselves in part. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.22
In behalf of the church,
A. C. BOURDEAU.
P.S. If we do not hear from Bro. White before Oct. 11th, we will meet him with a team at St. Albans’ depot the day following at 10 A. M. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.23
A. C. B.
Business Department
Business Notes
B. Landon: We are out of Litch’s Prophetic Expositions. We send you 90 cts. worth of other publications. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.24
W. A. Kennedy wishes his paper discontinued. Will he give us his P. O. address. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.25
Letters
Under this head will be found a full list of those from whom letters are received from week to week. If any do not find their letters thus acknowledged, they may know they have not come to hand. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.26
M. E. Beach, J. W., T. J. Butler, J. Clarke, B. F. Curtis, B. Tuttle, P. M., S. W. Rhodes, I. Sanborn, H. W. Lawrence, H. F. Baker, C. L. Palmer, A. S. H., E. Rowley, G. D., C. M. Hemingway, H. S. Lay, C. Woodman, S. Osborne, J. P. Rathbun, D. W. Hull, R. Purviance, Wm. H. Kenedy, E. S. Decker, J. Bates, F. Walter, M. E. Cornell. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.27
Receipts
Annexed to each receipt in the following list, is the Volume and Number of the ‘Review and Herald’ to which the money receipted pays. If money for the paper is not in due time acknowledged, immediate notice of the omission should be given. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.28
FOR REVIEW AND HERALD
C. M. Hemingway, 1,88,xiv,7. H. Rowley, 1,00,xv,20. B. Landon 1,00,xvi,1. R. Purviance 1,00,xv,1. Mrs. F. Dunham 1,00,xiv,16. Jas. McGibbon 0,50,xiv,10. Mary E. Beach 2,00,xvii,1. B. J. Beach 3,00,xvii,1. E. Cray 2,00,xiv,1. Jno. Trowbridge 1,00,xvi,2. C. Inglefield 0,50,xv,20. J. A. Wilbur 0,50,xv,20. P. Waltz 0,25,xv,7. J. Blake 0,25,xv,7. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.29
FOR MISSIONARY PURPOSES.-Sr. D. Dephew $5. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.30
FOR MICH. TENT.-Church in Otsego (S. B.) $6,50. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.31
Books Published at this Office
HYMNS for those who keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus. This Book contains 352 pp., 430 Hymns, and 76 pieces of Music. Price, 60 cents-In Morocco 65 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.32
Supplement to the Advent and Sabbath Hymn Book, 100 pp. Price 25 cents-In Muslin 35 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.33
Spiritual Gifts, or The Great Controversy between Christ and his angels, and Satan and his angels, containing 224 pp neatly bound in Morocco or Muslin. Price 50 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.34
Bible Tracts, Two Vols. 400 pp each. Price 50 cts each. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.35
Sabbath Tracts, Nos. 1, 2, 3 & 4. This work presents a condensed view of the entire Sabbath question.-184 pp Price 15 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.36
The Three Angels of Revelation 14:6-12, particularly the Third Angel’s Message, and the Two-horned Beast. 148 pp. Price 5 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.37
The Atonement-196 pp. Price 15 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.38
Man not Immortal: the only Shield against the Seductions of Modern Spiritualism.-148 pp. Price 15 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.39
Man’s present condition, and future reward or punishment.-196 pp. Price 15 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.40
The Bible Class. This work contains 52 Lessons on the Law of God and Faith of Jesus.-Price 15 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.41
A Book for Everybody, on the Kingdom of God. Price 15 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.42
The Prophecy of Daniel-the Four Kingdoms-the Sanctuary and 2300 days. Price 15 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.43
The Saint’s Inheritance. Price 10 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.44
Modern Spiritualism; its Nature and Tendency-an able exposure of the heresy-Price 10 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.45
The Law of God. Testimony of both Testaments relative to the law of God-its knowledge from Creation, its nature and perpetuity-is presented. Price 10 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.46
Miscellany. Seven Tracts on the Sabbath, Second Advent, etc. Price 10 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.47
Facts for the Times. Extracts from the writings of Eminent authors, ancient and modern. Price 10 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.48
The Signs of the Times. Price 10 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.49
The Seven Trumpets. Price 10 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.50
The Nature and Obligation of the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment, with remarks on the Great Apostasy and Perils of the Last Days. Price 5 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.51
Bible Student’s Assistant. A collection of proof-texts on important subjects. 36 pp. Price 5 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.52
The Celestial Railroad. Price 5 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.53
Perpetuity of the Royal Law. Price 5 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.54
Last Work of the True Church. Price 5 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.55
Review of Crozier. This work is a faithful review of the No-Sabbath heresy. Price 5 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.56
Brief exposition of Matthew 24. Price 5 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.57
Review of Fillio on the Sabbath Question. Price 5 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.58
Brown’s Experience. Price 5 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.59
The Truth Found-A short argument for the Sabbath. Price 5 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.60
SIXTEEN PAGE TRACTS. Who Changed the Sabbath? Unity of the Church-Both Sides-Spiritual Gifts. Price $1 per 100. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.61
EIGHT PAGE TRACTS. Wesley on the Law-Appeal to Men of Reason, on Immortality. Price 50 cents per 100. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.62
These small Tracts can be sent at the above prices, post-paid, in packages of not less than eight ounces. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.63
Home Here and Home in Heaven, with other poems. This work embraces all those sweet and Scriptural poems written by Annie R. Smith, from the time she embraced the third message till she fell asleep in Jesus. Price 25 cents. In paper covers, 20 cents. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.64
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 URIAH SMITH, Battle Creek, Mich. ARSH October 6, 1859, page 160.65