Advent Review, and Sabbath Herald, vol. 12
July 22, 1858
RH VOL. XII. - BATTLE CREEK, MICH., FIFTH-DAY, - NO. 10
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. XII. - BATTLE CREEK, MICH., FIFTH-DAY, JULY 22, 1858. - NO. 10.
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 July 22, 1858, page 73.1
THE WILLING AND OBEDIENT
“If ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat the good of the land.” Isaiah 1:19. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.2
WHOSE is a willing heart,
Whose is a ready hand,
Joyful in Jesus’ cause to start,
Joyful for him to stand?
Whose breast with ardor glows,
The conflict to begin,
Warring, but not with carnal foes;
Wrestling with every sin?
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.3
Who when the cross appears,
Hasten its weight to bear,
Glad, though it be through thorns and tears,
The cross of Christ to share?
Who at stern duty’s call,
Unbound by selfish will,
Meekly resign their earthly all,
Its bidding to fulfill?
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.4
Who with unyielding feet,
When storms around them roar,
Shrink not the scorn and hate to meet
Which Christ their Saviour bore:
Deeming of higher worth,
Their Lord’s reproaches now,
Than all the cankered gold of earth,
To which the worldlings bow?
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.5
Whose is a willing heart?
And who obedient stand?
To them shall heaven its joys impart,
To them the goodly land.
For them the City waits,
Unstained by woe or sin,
And as they come, the pearly gates
Shall hope to let them in. - ED.
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.6
THE SOUNDING OF THE SEVEN TRUMPETS Revelation 7, 8, 9. THE FIFTH TRUMPET, OR FIRST WO
“There is scarcely so uniform an agreement among interpreters concerning any part of the apocalypse as respecting the application of the fifth and sixth trumpets, or the first and second wo, to the Saracens and Turks. It is so obvious that it can scarcely be misunderstood. Instead of a verse or two designating each, the whole of the ninth chapter of the Revelation, in equal portions, is occupied with a description of both. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.7
“The Roman empire declined, as it arose, by conquest; but the Saracens and the Turks were the instruments by which a false religion became the scourge of an apostate church; and hence, instead of the fifth and sixth trumpets, like the former, being marked by that name alone, they are called woes. It was because the laws were transgressed, the ordinances changed, and the everlasting covenant broken, that the curse came upon the earth or the land. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.8
“We have passed the period, in the political history of the world, when the western empire was extinguished; and the way was thereby opened for the exaltation of the papacy. The imperial power of the city of Rome was annihilated, and the office and the name of the emperor of the west was abolished for a season. The trumpets assume a new form, as they are directed to a new object, and the close coincidence, or rather express identity between the king of the south, or the king of the north, as described by Daniel, and the first and second wo, will be noted in the subsequent illustration of the latter. The spiritual supremacy of the pope, it may be remembered, was acknowledged and maintained, after the fall of Rome, by the emperor Justinian. And whether in the character of a trumpet or a wo, the previous steps of history raise us, as on a platform, to behold in a political view the judgments that fell on apostate Christendom, and finally led to the subversion of the eastern empire.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.9
Chap. 9:1. “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.10
“Constantinople was besieged for the first time after the extinction of the western empire, by Chosroes, the king of Persia.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.11
“A star fell from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.12
“‘While the Persian monarch contemplated the wonders of his art and power, he received an epistle from an obscure citizen of Mecca, inviting him to acknowledge Mahomet as the apostle of God. He rejected the invitation, and tore the epistle. “It is thus,” exclaimed the Arabian prophet, “that God will tear the kingdom, and reject the supplication of Chosroes.” Placed on the verge of these two empires of the east, Mahomet observed with secret joy the progress of mutual destruction; and in the midst of the Persian triumphs he ventured to foretell, that, before many years should elapse, victory should again return to the banners of the Romans.’ ‘At the time when this prediction is said to have been delivered, no prophecy could be more distant from its accomplishment(!) since the first twelve years of Heraclius announced the approaching dissolution of the empire.’ ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.13
“It was not, like that designative of Attila, on a single spot that the star fell, but upon the earth. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.14
“Chosroes subjugated the Roman possessions in Asia and Africa. And ‘the Roman empire,’ at that period, ‘was reduced to the walls of Constantinople, with the remnant of Greece, Italy, and Africa, and some maratime cities, from Tyre to Trebisond, of the Asiatic coast. The experience of six years at length persuaded the Persian monarch to renounce the conquest of Constantinople, and to specify the annual tribute or the ransom of the Roman empire: a thousand talents of gold, a thousand talents of silver, a thousand silk robes, a thousand horses, and a thousand virgins. Heraclius subscribed these ignominious terms. But the time and space which he obtained to collect those treasures from the poverty of the east, was industriously employed in the preparations of a bold and desperate attack.’ ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.15
“The king of Persia despised the obscure Saracen, and derided the message of the pretended prophet of Mecca. Even the overthrow of the Roman empire would not have opened a door for Mahommedanism, or for the progress of the Saracenic armed propagators of an imposture, though the monarch of the Persians and chagan of the Avars (the successor of Attila) had divided between them the remains of the kingdom of the Caesars. Chosroes himself fell. The Persian and Roman monarchies exhausted each other’s strength. And before a sword was put into the hands of the false prophet, it was smitten from the hands of those who would have checked his career, and crushed his power. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.16
“Since the days of Scipio and Hannibal, no bolder enterprise has been attempted than that which Heraclius achieved for the deliverance of the empire. He permitted the Persians to oppress for a while the provinces, and to insult with impunity the capital of the east; while the Roman emperor explored his perilous way through the Black Sea and the mountains of Armenia, penetrated into the heart of Persia, and recalled the armies of the great king to the defence of their bleeding country. The revenge and ambition of Chosroes exhausted his kingdom. The whole city of Constantinople was invested - and the inhabitants descried with terror the flaming signals of the European and Asiatic shores. In the battle of Nineveh, which was fiercely fought from daybreak to the eleventh hour, twenty-eight standards, besides those which might be broken or torn, were taken from the Persians; the greatest part of their army was cut in pieces, and the victors, concealing their own loss, passed the night on the field. The cities and palaces of Assyria were open for the first time to the Romans. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.17
“‘The Greeks and modern Persians minutely described how Chosroes was insulted, and famished, and tortured by the command of an inhuman son, who so far surpassed the example of his father: but at the time of his death, what tongue could relate the story of the parricide? what eye could penetrate into the tower of darkness? The glory of the house of Sassan ended with the life of Chosroes; his unnatural son enjoyed only eight months’ fruit of his crimes; and in the space of four years the regal title was assumed by nine candidates, who disputed, with the sword or dagger, the fragments of an exhausted monarchy. Every province and every city of Persia was the scene of independence, of discord, and of blood, and the state of anarchy continued about eight years longer, till the factions were silenced and united under the common yoke of the Arabian Caliphs.’ ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.18
“The Roman emperor was not strengthened by the conquests which he achieved; and a way was prepared at the same time, and by the same means, for the multitude of Saracens from Arabia, like locusts from the same region, who, propagating in their course the dark and delusive Mahometan creed, speedily overspread both the Persian and Roman empires. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.19
“More complete illustration of this fact could not be desired than is supplied in the concluding words of the chapter from Gibbon, from which the preceding extracts are taken.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.20
“‘Yet the deliverer of the east was indigent and feeble. Of the Persian spoils the most valuable portion had been expended in the war, distributed to the soldiers, or buried by an unlucky tempest in the waves of the Euxine. The loss of two hundred thousand soldiers, who had fallen by the sword, was of less fatal importance than the decay of arts, agriculture, and population, in this long and destructive war: and although a victorious army had been formed under the standard of Heraclius, the unnatural effort seems to have exhausted rather than exercised their strength. While the emperor triumphed at Constantinople or Jerusalem, an obscure town on the confines of Syria was pillaged by the Saracens, and they cut in pieces some troops who advanced to its relief - an ordinary and trifling occurrence, had it not been the prelude of a mighty revolution. These robbers were the apostles of Mahomet; their fanatic valor had emerged from the desert; and in the last eight years of his reign, Heraclius lost to the Arabs the same provinces which he had rescued from the Persians.’ ARSH July 22, 1858, page 73.21
“‘The spirit of fraud and enthusiasm, whose abode is not in the heavens,’ was let loose on earth. The bottomless pit needed but a key to open it; and that key was the fall of Chosroes. He had contemptuously torn the letter of an obscure citizen of Mecca. But when from his ‘blaze of glory’ he sunk into ‘the tower of darkness’ which no eye could penetrate, the name of Chosroes was suddenly to pass into oblivion before that of Mahomet; and the crescent seemed but to wait its rising till the falling of the star. Chosroes, after his entire discomfiture and loss of empire, was murdered in the year 628; and the year 629 is marked by ‘the conquest of Arabia,’ ‘and the first war of the Mahometans against the Roman empire.’ And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit. He fell unto the earth. When the strength of the Roman empire was exhausted, and the great king of the east lay dead in his tower of darkness, the pillage of an obscure town on the borders of Syria was ‘the prelude of a mighty revolution.’ ‘The robbers were the apostles of Mahomet, and their fanatic valor emerged from the desert.’ ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.1
“A more succinct, yet ample, commentary may be given in the words of another historian. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.2
“‘While Chosroes of Persia was pursuing his dreams of recovering and enlarging the empire of Cyrus, and Heraclius was gallantly defending the empire of the Caesars against him; while idolatry and metaphysics were diffusing their baneful influence through the church of Christ, and the simplicity and purity of the gospel were nearly lost beneath the mythology which occupied the place of that of ancient Greece and Rome, the seeds of a new empire, and of a new religion, were sown in the inaccessible deserts of Arabia.’ ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.3
“The first wo arose at a time when transgressors had come to the full, when men had changed the ordinances and broken the everlasting covenant, when idolatry prevailed, or when tutelar saints were honored - and when the ‘mutual destruction’ of the Roman and Persian empires prepared the way of the fanatic robbers - or opened the bottomless pit, from whence an imposture, which manifests its origin from the ‘father of liars,’ spread over the greater part of the world. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.4
“And there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. Like the noxious and even deadly vapor which the winds, particularly from the south-west, diffuse in Arabia, Mahommedanism spread from thence its pestilential influence - and arose as suddenly, and spread as widely, as smoke arising out of the pit, the smoke of a great furnace. Such is a suitable symbol of the religion of Mahomet, of itself, or as compared with the pure light of the gospel of Jesus. It was not, like the latter, a light from heaven; but a smoke out of the bottomless pit. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.5
“‘Mahomet alike instructed to preach and to fight; and the union of these opposite qualities, while it enhanced his merit, contributed to his success; the operation of force and persuasion, of enthusiasm and fear, continually acted on each other, till every barrier yielded to their irresistible power.’ ‘The first caliphs ascended the pulpit to persuade and edify the congregation.’ ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.6
“‘While the state was exhausted by the Persian war, and the church was distracted by the Nestorian and Monophysite sects, Mahomet, with the sword in one hand, and the Koran in the other, erected his throne on the ruins of Christianity and of Rome. The genius of the Arabian prophet, the manners of his nation, and the spirit of his religion, involve the causes of the decline and fall of the eastern empire; and our eyes are curiously intent on one of the most memorable revolutions which have impressed a new and most lasting character on the nations of the globe.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.7
“Mahomet, it may be said, has heretofore divided the world with Jesus. He rose up against the Prince of princes. A great sword was given him. His doctrine, generated by the spirit of fraud and enthusiasm, whose abode is not in the heavens, as even an unbeliever could tell, arose out of the bottomless pit, spread over the earth like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. It spread from Arabia, over great part of Asia, Africa and Europe. The Greeks of Egypt, whose numbers could scarcely equal a tenth of the nation, were overwhelmed by the universal defection. And even in the farthest extremity of continental Europe, the decline of the French monarchy invited the attacks of these insatiate fanatics. The smoke that arose from the cave of Hera was diffused from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. But the prevalence of their faith is best seen in the extent of their conquests.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.8
Verse 3. “And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth; and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.9
“A false religion was set up, which, although the scourge of transgressions and idolatry, filled the world with darkness and delusion; and swarms of Saracens, like locusts, overspread the earth, and speedily extended their ravages over the Roman empire, from east to west. The hail descended from the frozen shores of the Baltic; the burning mountain fell upon the sea, from Africa: and the locusts (the fit symbol of the Arabs) issued from Arabia, their native region. They came, as destroyers, propagating a new doctrine, and stirred up to rapine and violence by motives of interest and religion. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.10
“‘In the ten years of the administration of Omar, the Saracens reduced to his obedience thirty-six thousand cities or castles, destroyed four thousand churches or temples of the unbelievers, and erected fourteen hundred mosques, for the exercise of the religion of Mahomet. One hundred years after his flight for Mecca, the arms and the reign of his successors extended from India to the Atlantic Ocean. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.11
“‘At the end of the first century of the Hegira, the caliphs were the most potent and absolute monarchs of the globe. The regal and sacerdotal characters were united in the successors of Mahomet. Under the last of the Ommiades, the Arabic empire extended two hundred days’ journey from east to west, from the confines of Tartary and India to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. And if we retrench the sleeve of the robe, as it is styled by their writers, the long and narrow province of Africa, the solid and compact dominion from Fargana to Aden from Tarsus to Surat, will spread on every side to the measure of four or five months of the march of a caravan. The progress of the Mahometan religion diffused over this ample space a general resemblance of manners and opinions; the language and laws of the Koran were studied with equal devotion at Sarmacand and Seville: the Moor and the Indian embraced as countrymen and brothers in the pilgrimage of Mecca; and the Arabian language was adopted as the popular idiom in all the provinces to the westward of the Tigris.’ ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.12
“A still more specific illustration may be given, of the power, like unto that of scorpions, which was given them. Not only was their attack speedy and vigorous, but ‘the nice sensibility of honor, which weighs the insult rather than the injury, sheds its deadly venom on the quarrels of the Arabs: - an indecent action, a contemptuous word, can be expiated only by the blood of the offender; and such is their patient inveteracy, that they expect whole months and years the opportunity of revenge.’” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.13
Verse 4. “And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.14
On the sounding of the first angel, the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.15
After the death of Mahomet, he was succeeded in the command by Abubeker, A. D. 632, who, as soon as he had fairly established his authority and government, dispatched a circular letter to the Arabian tribes, of which the following is an extract: “This is to acquaint you that I intend to send the true believers into Syria to take it out of the hand of the infidels, and I would have you know that the fighting for religion is an act of obedience to God.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.16
“His messengers returned with the tidings of pious and martial ardor, which they had kindled in every province; the camp of Medina was successively filled with the intrepid bands of the Saracens, who panted for action, complained of the heat of the season and the scarcity of provisions, and accused, with impatient murmurs, the delays of the caliph. As soon as their numbers were complete, Abubeker ascended the hill, reviewed the men, the horses, and the arms, and poured forth a fervent prayer for the success of their undertaking. His instructions to the chiefs of the Syria were inspired by the warlike fanaticism which advances to seize, and affects to despise, the objects of earthly ambition. ‘Remember,’ said the successor of the prophet, ‘that you are always in the presence of God, on the verge of death, in the assurance of judgment, and the hope of Paradise: avoid injustice and oppression; consult with your brethren, and study to preserve the love and confidence of your troops. When you fight the battles of the Lord, acquit yourselves like men, without turning your backs; but let not your victory be stained with the blood of women or children. Destroy no palm-trees, nor burn any fields of corn. Cut down no fruit-trees, nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as you kill to eat. When you make any covenant or article, stand to it, and be as good as your word. As you go on, you will find some religious persons who live retired in monasteries, and propose to themselves to serve God that way; let them alone, and neither kill them nor destroy their monasteries; and you will find another sort of people that belong to the synagogue to Satan, who have shaven crowns; be sure you cleave their skulls, and give them no quarter till they either turn Mahometans or pay tribute.’ ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.17
“It is not said in prophecy or in history that the more humane injunctions were as scrupulously obeyed as the ferocious mandate. But it was so commanded them. And the preceding are the only instructions recorded by Gibbon, as given by Abubeker to the chiefs whose duty it was to issue the commands to all the Saracen hosts. The commands are alike discriminating with the prediction; as if the caliph himself had been acting in known as well as direct obedience to a higher mandate than that of mortal man - and in the very act of going forth to fight against the religion of Jesus, and to propagate Mahommedanism in its stead, he repeated the words which it was foretold in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, that he would say.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.18
Verse 5. “And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months; and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.19
“Their constant incursions into the Roman territory, and frequent assaults on Constantinople itself, were an unceasing torment throughout the empire, which yet they were not able effectually to subdue, notwithstanding the long period, afterwards more directly alluded to, during which they continued, by unremitting attacks, grievously to afflict an idolatrous church, of which the pope was the head. Their charge was to torment, and then to hurt but not to kill, or utterly destroy. The marvel was that they did not. To repeat the words of Gibbon: ‘The calm historian of the present hour must study to explain by what means the church and state were saved from this impending, and, as it should seem, from this inevitable danger. In this inquiry I shall unfold the events that rescued our ancestors of Britain, and our neighbors of Gaul, from the civil and religious yoke of the Koran; that protected the majesty of Rome, and delayed the servitude of Constantinople; that invigorated the defence of the Christians, and scattered among their enemies the seeds of division and decay.’ Ninety pages of illustration follow, to which we refer the readers of Gibbon. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.20
Verse 6. “And in those days shall men seek death, but they shall not find it; and shall desire to die, but death shall flee from them.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 74.21
“Men were weary of life, when life was spared only for a renewal of wo, and when all that they accounted sacred was violated, and all that they held dear constantly endangered; and when the savage Saracens domineered over them, or left them only to a momentary repose, ever liable to be suddenly or violently interrupted, as if by the sting of a scorpion. They who tormented men were commanded not to kill them. And death might thus have been sought even where it was not found. ‘Whosoever falls in battle,’ says Mahomet, ‘his sins are forgiven at the day of judgment: at the day of judgment his wounds shall be resplendent as vermilion, and odoriferous as musk, and the loss of his limbs shall be supplied by the wings of angels and cherubim.’ The intrepid souls of the Arabs were fired with enthusiasm: the picture of the invisible world was strongly painted on their imagination; and the death which they always despised became an object of hope and desire.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.1
Verse 7. “And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.2
“Arabia, in the opinion of the naturalist, is the genuine and original country of the horse; the climate most propitious, not indeed to the size, but to the spirit and swiftness of that generous animal. The merit of the Barb, the Spanish, and the English breed, is derived from a mixture of the Arabian blood; the Bedouins preserve with superstitious care the honors and the memory of the purest race. These horses are educated in the tents, among the children of the Arabs, with a tender familiarity, which trains them in the habits of gentleness and attachment. They are accustomed only to walk and to gallop: their sensations are not blunted by the incessant use of the spur and the whip; their powers are reserved for the moments of flight and pursuit; but no sooner do they feel the touch of the hand or the stirrup, than they dart away with the swiftness of the wind. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.3
“The Arabian horse takes the lead throughout the world; and skill in horsemanship is the art and science of Arabia. And the barbed Arabs, swift as locusts and armed like scorpions, ready to dart away in a moment, were ever prepared unto battle. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.4
“And on their heads were, as it were, crowns like gold. When Mahomet entered Medina, (A. D. 622,) and was first received as its prince, ‘a turban was unfurled before him to supply the deficiency of a standard.’ The turbans of the Saracens, like unto a coronet, were their ornament and their boast. The rich booty abundantly supplied and frequently renewed them. To assume the turban, is proverbially to turn Mussulman. And the Arabs were anciently distinguished by the mitres which they wore. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.5
“And their faces were as the faces of men. ‘The gravity and firmness of the mind of the Arab is conspicuous in his outward demeanor - his only gesture is that of stroking his beard, the venerable symbol of manhood.’ ‘The honor of their beards is most easily wounded.’ ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.6
Verse 8. “And they had hair as the hair of women.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.7
“Long hair is esteemed an ornament by women.” The Arabs, unlike to other men, had their hair as the hair of women, or uncut, as their practice is recorded by Pliny and others. But there was nothing effeminate in their character, for, as denoting their ferocity and strength to devour, their teeth were as the teeth of lions. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.8
Verse 9. “And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.9
“The cuirass (or breastplate) was in use among the Arabs in the days of Mahomet. In the battle of Ohud (the second which Mahomet fought) with the Koreish of Mecca, (A. D. 624,) ‘seven hundred of them were armed with cuirasses.’ And in his next victory over the Jews, ‘three hundred cuirasses, five hundred pikes, a thousand lances, composed the most useful portion of the spoil.’ After the defeat of the imperial army of seventy thousand men, on the plain of Aiznadin, (A. D. 633,) the spoil taken by the Saracens ‘was inestimable; many banners and crosses of gold and silver, precious stones, silver and gold chains, and innumerable suits of the richest armor and apparel. The seasonable supply of arms became the instrument of new victories.’” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.10
Verse 9. “And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.11
“The charge of the Arabs was not like that of the Greeks and Romans, the efforts of a firm and compact infantry: their military force was chiefly formed of cavalry and archers; and the engagement was often interrupted, and often renewed by single combats and flying skirmishes, etc. The periods of the battle of Cadesia were distinguished by their peculiar appellations. The first, from the well-timed appearance of six thousand of the Syrian brethren, was denominated the day of succor. The day of concussion might express the disorder of one, or perhaps of both the contending armies. The third, a nocturnal tumult, received the whimsical name of the night of barking, from the discordant clamors, which were compared to the inarticulate sounds of the fiercest animals. The morning of the succeeding day determined the fate of Persia.’ With a touch of the hand, the Arab horses darted away with the swiftness of the wind. The sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. Their conquests were marvelous, both in rapidity and extent, and their attack was instantaneous. Nor was it less successful against the Romans than the Persians. ‘A religion of peace was incapable of withstanding the fanatic cry of “Fight, fight! Paradise, paradise!” that re-echoed in the ranks of the Saracens.’” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.12
Verse 10. “And they had tails like unto scorpions: and there were stings in their tails; and their power was to hurt men five months.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.13
“The authority of the companions of Mahomet expired with their lives: and the chiefs or emirs of the Arabian tribes left behind in the desert the spirit of equality and independence. The legal and sacerdotal characters were united in the successors of Mahomet; and if the Koran was the rule of their actions, they were the supreme judges and interpreters of that divine book. They reigned by the right of conquest over the nations of the east, to whom the name of liberty was unknown, and who were accustomed to applaud in their tyrants the acts of violence and severity that were exercised at their own expense.’” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.14
“Thus far Keith has furnished us with illustrations of the sounding of the first five trumpets. But here we must take leave of him, and, in applying the prophetic periods, pursue another course.
(To be Continued)
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.15
Mutual Forbearance
THAT house will be kept in a turmoil where there is no tolerance of each other’s errors, no lenity shown to failings, no meek submission to injuries, no soft answers to turn away wrath. If you lay a single stick of wood upon the andirons and apply fire to it, it will go out; put on another stick and they will burn; add half a dozen and you will have a grand conflagration. There are other fires subject to the same conditions. If one member of a family gets into a passion, and is let alone, he will cool down, and possibly be ashamed and repent. But oppose temper to temper; pile on the fuel; draw in others of the group, and let one harsh answer be followed by another, and there will soon be a blaze which will enwrap them all in its lurid splendors. The venerable Phillip Henry understood this well, and when his son Matthew, the Commentator, was married, he sent these lines to the wedded pair: ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.16
“Love one another, pray oft together; and see You never both together angry be; If one speak fire, t’other with water come; Is one provoked? be t’other soft and dumb.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.17
So thought the excellent Bishop Cowper, of whom this remarkable anecdote is related: “The wife of this good man was afraid he would injure his health by close confinement. So, one day, like a kind-hearted, officious wife, she went into his library in his absence, and gathering up all the manuscript notes he had been eight years collecting for his dictionary, threw them into the fire. When he came home she told him what she had done. Assured of the kind motive which had prompted her to this act of vandalism his only reply to her was, ‘Woman, thou hast put me to eight years study more.’” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.18
This, it must be confessed, is carrying meekness about as far as flesh and blood can ordinarily be expected to go. But even a less measure of this quality would be found a great sedative to those ebullitions of passion which ruffle the serenity of households. Allied with a sound judgment, and with true affection, it would aim at shutting out from the circle such topics of conversation as were known to produce an irritating effect upon any of the group. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.19
The same spirit would constrain a family from pushing a question, on which they differed, to the point of a peremptory decision. It would admonish them when the ice was beginning to quiver and crackle, and show them where they must stop, unless they meant to break through. There are too many who refuse to see, or at least to heed these indications, and whom nothing will arrest but an actual plunge into the wintry grave. They will insist upon their point with such pertinacity as to bring down at length that terrific “You shall,” or “You shall not,” which in conjugal life is as freezing as a bath in December. Happy are those families where discussions never reach this crisis. It is said that in the business meetings of that exemplary Christian society, the “Friends,” there is no voting. The clerk gathers the views of the members from their observations, and frames a corresponding minute, which, unless excepted to, stands, without a vote, as the act of the body. This is a safe principle for households. The principles of those who wear the purple can usually be got at without a vote; and voting sometimes creates a difference of feeling, where there was simply a diversity of sentiment. - Dr. Boardman. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.20
LEARN to be working Christians. “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” It is very striking to see the usefulness of many Christians. Are there none of you who know what it is to be selfish in your Christianity? You have seen a selfish child go into a secret place to enjoy some delicious morsel undisturbed by his companions. So it is with some Christians. They feed upon Christ and forgiveness; but it is alone and all for themselves. Are there not some of you who can enjoy being a Christian, while your dearest friend is not, and yet will not speak of him? See, here you have got work to do. When Christ found you he said, “Go work in my vineyard.” What were you hired for, if it was not to spread salvation? What blessed for? O, my christian friends! how little you live as though you were the servants of Christ! How much idle time and idle talk you have! This is not like a good servant. How many things you have to do for yourself! How few for Christ and his people. This is not like a servant. - McCheyne. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.21
LOVE to our fellow man is essential to a manly character. The duties of justice between man and the spirit of universal brotherhood, are manifest dictates of the human constitution; and when man violates these principles, he so far forth ceases to be human and approaches the character of spirits and beasts of prey. The relation of mutual dependence and essential equality, which characterizes the race, stamps its destiny in this respect. “No man liveth to himself,” and obeys the laws of his being; and he who lives a life of supreme selfishness lives in violation of the laws that are written upon his constitution, and he experiences all the melancholy consequences of transgression. His heart is withered, his moral sense blunted, and his whole spiritual nature vitiated. Look at the selfish world. Man rioting upon the blood and bones of his fellow! Is this manly? Is it the dictate of human constitution? Is man really a beast of prey? Has God furnished him with the mean selfishness of the wolf? the sly deception and trickery of the fox? and the fatal poison of the adder, that he should go about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour? Whence this divine sense of justice, and those celestial promptings of benevolence and generosity? Ah; man was made to be the brother, and not the tyrant and robber of his fellow man. Those fraternal promptings of his unsophisticated nature are unmistakable. They utter plainly the voice of nature’s God. - Bassett. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.22
What a sweet idea, Jesus thinks of me! I am never for one moment out of his thoughts: he says, “O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.23
At the cross of Jesus, God and sinners meet in peace and friendship: we are “reconciled to God by the death of his Son.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 75.24
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
“Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.”
BATTLE CREEK, FIFTH-DAY, JULY 22, 1858.
REFORMER’S CONVENTION
THE pen would become weary in recording, and the eye in reading, all the absurd and blasphemous notions put forth by Deists, Atheists, Free Lovers and Spiritualists, which are now flooding the land. A Reform, or perhaps more properly a Spiritualist, Convention commenced June 25th last, in Rutland, Vt. Some of the positions taken, and the resolutions discussed it may be proper to record as waymarks of the progression (?) people are making in some directions. The first resolution will show the position into which some would be glad to reform themselves on the subject of law: ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.1
“Resolved, That the authority of each individual soul is absolute and final in deciding all questions as to what is true or false in principle, or right or wrong in practice; therefore the individual, the church or the State that attempts to control the opinions or the practice of any man or woman, by authority or power outside of his or her own soul, is guilty of a flagrant wrong.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.2
The object of the Convention seemed to be to destroy the confidence of the people in the Bible and its Author, as the following resolution will show: ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.3
“Resolved, That nothing is true or right, and nothing is false or wrong, because it is sanctioned or condemned by the Bible - therefore our Bible is powerless to prove any doctrine to be true or any practice to be right, and it should never be quoted for that purpose.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.4
Read 1 Timothy 4:3, and compare with it the following: ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.5
“Resolved, That the slavery and degradation of woman proceed from the institution of marriage; that by the marriage contract she loses control of her name, her person, her property, her labor, her affections, her children and her freedom. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.6
Mr. T. Curtis, a free lover of Philadelphia, Pa. made the following statement of his experience and sentiments: ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.7
“I married myself to my wife, and she married herself to me, upon the express understanding not that God sanctified it - we did not want God in the matter - not that it was sanctioned by magistrate or priest, because we cast that idea aside as none of their business, etc.... When we were married, we expressed that sentiment, and when we agree to separate, we shall accomplish that separation without the help of God, or priest or magistrate - we don’t want the consent of either of the three - we do not want to be united because God unites us, and we will not be separated because God separates us. We will act upon our own judgment and opinions; each respecting the impressions, not which I state, or which she states, but the impressions which are for both, and which are the common property of all, and as such to be used both by men and women.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.8
Eld. Grant, of the “World’s Crisis,” was present to hold up the true Bible doctrine concerning the state of man in death, and the immortality of the soul. From his report we copy the following paragraph: ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.9
“In replying to Prof. Brittan, we quoted both what the Lord and the Devil said to Eve. The Lord said, ‘Thou shalt surely die;’ and the Devil said, ‘Ye shall not surely die.’ We inquired which told the truth. Several voices from the platform cried out, ‘The Devil.’ They answered consistently with their belief; and we do not see how any one who believes in the immortality of the soul can honestly give any other answer.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.10
If we may credit the various reports of this Convention, it was rather a failure and will prove a detriment to the cause of Spiritualism in Rutland and vicinity; but in an age when the masses seem thirsting for error, and hankering for any delusion which will exalt themselves, flatter their presumption, and give the rein to their passions and lusts, such a trifling incident will prove no lasting impediment to this work of devils. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.11
POOR IN SPIRIT
“BLESSED are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.12
“To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” Isaiah 66:2. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.13
The poor in spirit are truly rich; while those that feel that they are rich, and increased with goods, are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. And since there are such exceeding great and precious promises to the poor in spirit, is it not highly important for us to cultivate this grace? Since the kingdom of heaven is to be given to the poor in spirit, should we not labor and strive to be of that class? ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.14
And how shall we attain to this poverty of spirit? By what means shall we cultivate it? Shall we attain it by seeking worldly wealth and living in the style of the world; by following the fashions of the world making a show of wealth? Shall we increase in poverty of spirit by putting on costly apparel, so that we may not appear to the world to be so poor as they might otherwise think us to be? Shall we grow poor in spirit by decorating our persons with jewelry or other ornaments and outward adornings? Not at all. These things only cultivate the opposite spirit. If we desire them, it only proves that we are not poor in spirit. By this we may examine our heart. Our choice in respect to these outward things is a true index of the heart. If we are truly poor in spirit, we shall hasten to make our outward appearance and style of living correspond to this state of the heart. Pride, the sin of the devil, must be killed. But it will live as long as it has anything to live upon. It will abide with us till it is starved out. And we may be assured that poverty of spirit will not live in the same house. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.15
A little in the future and all the proud will be cut off. They will be cut down as the grass, and wither as the green herb. But not so with the poor in spirit. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. In a little while their pilgrimage through this land, in which they are strangers, will be ended, and they will be at home. Think you that they will then regret the poor style in which they emigrated through the land of their sojournings? Will they then regret the scoffs and jeers which, as they took their humble meal by the way-side, they received from those that passed by on the other side? No: it was their choice to appear poor in the land of strangers. They might have stopped, and become citizens of the country by conforming to the prevailing customs. But they were seeking a better country - a land flowing with milk and honey - a land where they could feel they were at home. Consequently they were deaf to the censures or applause of those through whose land they passed. They were poor in spirit, but rich in faith; and now they enter upon their eternal inheritance. “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” R. F. C. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.16
Meetings in Lisbon, Iowa
BRO. SMITH: We closed our meetings in Lisbon, on First-day, 4th inst. On Second-day four were baptized, and others are now waiting for an opportunity to be. We left an appointment to hold meetings in this village, to commence last evening, and went to Iowa city, to make arrangements for meetings there. The few Sabbath-keepers about that place were very glad to see us, and very anxious to have the tent come there. Bro. Everett is deeply interested in the present truth, and doing what he can to interest others. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.17
According to appointment we pitched the tent in this place yesterday, and had a large and attentive congregation last evening. To-day Bro. Hull arrived from the south. The state of the roads and the consequent failure of the mails, prevented his being here sooner. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.18
About 1 o’clock this afternoon a heavy storm came from the west, and though the most strenuous efforts were made to secure the tent, it seemed like a play-thing in the wind, such was its violence. One pole was broken, and the canvass was badly torn. It continues to rain; (5 P. M) so the prospect is that it will have to lay there over the Sabbath. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.19
This tent is oblong, 50 by 80 feet, but the circle has been used mostly alone, so that the center part, 30 feet wide, is about as good as new; but the circle is weak, and cannot last much longer. We hope, however, that we can so mend it that it will do good service this season with good care. I regret that the state of my health is such at present that the burdens rest almost entirely on my brethren. But, thank the Lord, there is no discouragement among us. We are all determined to do what we can in the good cause, knowing that our labor is not in vain in the Lord. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.20
We do not know how long we shall have to remain here, but wish to have letters directed to Iowa City for the present. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.21
J. H. W.
Mount Vernon, Iowa, July 8th, 1858.
PRAYER BY A. S. HUTCHINS
(Continued) ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.22
WITH profit we may now briefly consider the duty of public worship, for which all Christians have a sincere and abiding love. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.23
Says David, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1. With emotions of lively gratitude, the heart of every child of God swells for the privilege of entering with those of like precious faith into the house of the Lord. And here in the language of the faithful servant of God, his invitation is, “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.” Psalm 95:6. “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.” Psalm 96:8, 9. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.24
But we would here remark that we should not go to the house of worship with a careless, heedless, or worldly-minded spirit. We should carry with us the Spirit of him who was rejected, buffeted and despised, and crucified, as we go forth to worship in his holy and all-prevailing name. We have reason to fear that some even of the remnant Church fail here. O brethren and sisters, “WATCH” your words and actions as you go to worship the Lord of hosts, especially on the holy Sabbath. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.25
Remember the awful majesty and supreme power of him whom you worship, and before whom you bow. Says the Prophet, ‘But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting King: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.” Jeremiah 10:10-12. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.26
The following remarks from the pen of a writer on this point we deem worthy of a place here: ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.27
“Be watchful over your spirit in going. Much of our spirituality and comfort in public worship depends on the state of mind in which we come. We should, as far as may be, abstain not only from worldly business, but worldly conversation and thoughts on the Sabbath. A dream cometh, says Solomon, through the multitude of business. Ecclesiastes 5:3. If you are conversing or thinking on the things of this world till you enter the house of God, how is it possible that your heart can at once be raised to God? ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.28
“Earnestly aim at going thither in the spirit of prayer, looking upwards for the divine blessing to give life, efficacy, and unction to the outward service. It would be happy for us if we could always go in that spirit which David describes, “O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 76.29
Psalm 63:1, 2. When we come in any thing of this spirit, how different a service is public worship to what it is when we come carelessly. How humbling, how awful, how elevating. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.1
“Let us also go in the spirit of praise. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Psalm 122:1. We should come up to his house with a thankful, grateful spirit; with the feeling of children going to their parents; not in the spirit of bondage, but in the spirit of adoption. A dutiful child, entirely dependent on the bounty, wisdom and love of its kind father, after experiencing the contempt or unfriendly treatment to which a stranger in a foreign country is exposed, loves to go to the father’s dwelling; and whilst we are in this hostile and ensnaring world, it is our privilege to serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with joy. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.2
“Yet let holy joy be ever connected with godly fear. The Jews were commanded, Reverence my sanctuary. Leviticus 19:30. And Solomon’s directions should be often in our thoughts: Keep thy foot (watch and mark all the motions of soul and body, restraining all that would be unbecoming) when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear than to offer the sacrifice of fools. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God, for God is in heaven and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:1, 2. We should endeavor to have that lively impression of the divine presence, which pervaded Jacob’s mind after his intercourse with his God: “Surely the Lord is in this place - how dreadful is this place; this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. Genesis 28:16, 17. The more just and lively views we have of God’s character, presence and glory, the more we shall seek to honor him. This reverence Paul urges: Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear. Hebrews 11:33. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.3
“Closely connected with this reverence will be deep self-abasement. We may always observe this, when God’s servants have had near approaches to him, or a true view of his glory, they have been greatly humbled in the sense of their own sinfulness; as Abraham, Behold, now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes; [Genesis 18:27;] or as Job, Behold, I am vile, what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth; [Job 40:4;] or as Isaiah, Wo is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts. Isaiah 6:5. We should come with that feeling which Daniel well expresses, We do not present our supplications before thee, O Lord, for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies. Daniel 9:18.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.4
Of him who lived our pattern, we read, “As his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath-day.” Luke 4:16. Let not those privileged with meeting together from Sabbath to Sabbath, grow unmindful of this blessing, nor neglectful of their duty, but strive rather to love and appreciate this great favor, and the benefits of the house of prayer. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.5
For the “little flock” living in the present eventful period, the Apostle has a word of exhortation on this subject. “And let us consider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24, 25. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.6
Again, we are encouraged through the mouth of the Prophet to faithfulness, as we bend our footsteps to the land of the blest. Says he, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.7
“Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it: and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.” Malachi 3:16, 17. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.8
The Lord is about to make up his jewels: his saints will soon be gathered home. “The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isaiah 35:10. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.9
O, blessed prospect! O, glorious hope! Who would not be faithful with this buoyant expectation before them? with so blissful a future beckoning them onward, upward and homeward?
(To be Continued.)
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.10
PROPHECY
ITS use - to guide our feet amidst the darkness of this deceptive world. Says Peter, We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, etc. 2 Peter 1:19. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.11
How can prophecy shine for us? Ans. “Whatsoever doth make manifest is light.” and if we will take notice of what is passing around us, marking well specifications of prophecy that apply to our time, we may learn what the mind of the Lord is concerning us, and take the timely warning, that we fall not into the snare of the devil. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.12
The devil is the great enemy of our race. He deceived our mother Eve, and brought death upon man. God has provided a way for man’s escape. But Satan, ever busy to cheat mankind out of eternal life, fails not to apply himself skillfully in every age, as the circumstances of the case may require. God has shown, by the prophecy of the book of Revelation 16:14, by a striking symbol, that at the time of the pouring out of the sixth vial there would be a consummation of Satan’s deceptive work: it is by “spirits of devils working miracles.” It goes now, in its embryo state, under the pleasing name of “Spiritual reform.” It will also creep into the churches of the world. Then it will be that they are become the habitation of devils. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.13
Now, if in connection with the great spiritual delusion, of this age, we attend to the plain, faithful teaching of the Apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, [chap. 2,] we cannot fail to see that “the prophecy came not in old times by the will of man;” for there never was a more clear description given of anything, even in the time of its existence, than is here given of the Papacy, and the period from its fall to the second advent of the Lord. “Whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power, and signs, and lying wonders.” etc. It is worthy of notice, that the very things that are the most prominent in this age, to our own personal knowledge, namely, wonderful spiritual manifestations concerning which doubts are entertained, as to whether they are, or are not, of the devil; the manifest disposition to reject the truth; and to be deluded, and delighted with the fables of unrighteousness; are the very things that are the most prominent specifications of the letter referred to. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.14
It is understood by most readers of the Review that the Papal supremacy was taken away in the year 1798, about 60 years ago. Since that period, there have so many pointed prophecies been fulfilled, in such rapid succession, and have marked our whereabouts so clearly, that it may truly be said as in the prophecy, the day of the Lord hasteth greatly. “A something strikingly awful shall forewarn that the world will come to an end and that the last day is even at the door.” - Martin Luther. JESSE DORCAS. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.15
NOTE. - The Greek of 2 Thessalonians 2:9, will not allow the word “after,” to be understood of time, but only of manner. - ED. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.16
The Lord always pardons freely, but expects confession; and whenever he pardons sin, he imparts a hatred to it. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.17
Meetings in Portland, Mich
DEAR BRO. SMITH: A few weeks since we spent a few days with the church at Otsego, Mich. They have been in a state of trial and lack of consecration and spirituality for several months past: false teachings also with disaffected members, etc. From all these they have separated themselves, and begun anew to serve the Lord with all their hearts, and to live out all the precious truths in the last message. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.18
According to previous arrangements we appointed to lecture in the school-house in Richland, some twenty-two miles from Battle Creek. Bro. Babcock and family were the only Sabbath-keepers in the neighborhood. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.19
We commenced June 13th, with a full house, and the people apparently much interested. When we came to attend our eighth meeting, the house was locked and no one prepared to explain. We learned afterwards that the Sabbath question, which was up the previous evening, troubled some of the professors very much. Our meetings continued without further interruption at the house of Bro. Babcock, where we were invited to preach some four evenings. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.20
Wm. Osburn, of the M. E. Church, had been holding protracted meetings in the school-house for some time, and a number had professed to be converted under his labors. On hearing of our protracted meeting, I was told that he labored hard to prejudice the people against the Advent doctrine, and advised them not to attend the meetings. After we were locked out, I attended one of his meetings. The main object of his discourse was to show up Advent Sabbath-keepers in a ridiculous and contemptible light. He exhorted his brethren to believe in Christ. Said he, They believe he is no better than Peter, and that man has no spirit any more than snakes and hogs; and our business was to scatter, divide, and destroy the churches, with much more of the same tenor, unbecoming the character of his profession. As he was personal in his remarks and labored to single me out before his audience several times, when he closed his meeting. I asked for the privilege of the house the next forenoon (First-day) to review his discourse; this was denied, rendering as an excuse, it would desecrate the Sabbath. I then asked Mr. O. what knew he about me or of me, or if he had ever seen me before? He said that he had not. To whom then were you directing your remarks? He replied, to Advent Sabbath-keepers. Where and when have you known them? O, said he, I have known enough of them. Where, sir, have you known them? Said he, in Monterey. Any where else? No, that was enough. What a sensible well-bred minister and teacher in Israel, to entertain an audience by directing the main portion of a long discourse, to a people living in a scattered neighborhood 25 miles from the place of his meeting! What he said about them after his meeting particularly, I considered unbecoming the character of an honest man. From what I learned afterwards, his unjust remarks against the Sabbath brethren at Monterey arose from a statement of his own, which he could not sustain. He therefore resorted to such ways to justify himself. Many of them once belonged to his church. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.21
The next day a Mr. Parmenter, another Methodist preacher, came, as he said, to preach the immortality of the soul. He endeavored to show that man was made first, and then the soul, and that these were distinct, and the soul was separated from the body at death, and passed off to the spirit world. He endeavored two or three times to describe the soul as a principle. When he had finished his subject, he challenged any person to show that he had not proved it by the Bible. Now, said he, I will show what these Adventists believe about the soul. He quoted several texts and gave his opinion of them, and then held us up to ridicule and contempt for believing contrary to his view of the subject. We asked the privilege to reply. He refused, and closed the meeting. We reviewed his subject the next evening, and trust that those who heard were satisfied that his position was without foundation in the Scriptures. We were invited and held two evening meetings in the adjoining district school-house. On leaving the place we learned that a number were satisfied that we had the truth on the Sabbath, and they were making up their minds to keep it. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 77.22
JOSEPH BATES.
Battle Creek, July 8th, 1858.
BE SOBER AND WATCH UNTO PRAYER
BE sober, be sober, and watch unto prayer;
For Satan surrounds thee with many a snare.
His vigils are constant, awake, O awake!
Thy God, and thy duty, oh never forsake!
Gird on the whole armor, prepare for the fight.
What thine hand finds to do, quickly do with thy might,
For perchance thou art hastening fast to the grave.
Where no thoughts are cherished, no good can be craved.
Listen not to the tale that professors will tell,
That the smooth “by-path meadow,” will do just as well.
“For how prone are professors to rest on their lees,
“To study their pleasure, their profit and ease!”
And the prophet of God loud proclaimeth His woe,
To all who in Zion seek ease as they go.
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.1
Yea the word of the Lord bids thee work while ‘tis light.
And do what thine hand finds to do, with thy might;
And the path of the just is so narrow and straight,
There be few that will enter so lowly a gate;
And the thief and the robber climb over the wall,
Yet the thief and the robber forever shall fall.
Yea all, who endeavor to go round the cross,
Shall find that their labor is sorrow and loss.
Lay aside all thy showy and costly attire.
Dispense with the riches of carnal desire;
Go buy thee white raiment, that thou mayest be clad,
And get thee pure gold, that the furnace hath tried.
Be constant, consistent, O go not astray,
Lest the weak, or the lame, be turned out of the way.
The work of the christian to ruin is hurled,
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.2
When he seeks to serve God, and join hands with the world.
God ever rejects the proud wish of the wise,
While he lists to the prayer of the poor they despise;
And He chooseth the weak of the world, to confound
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.3
The works which earth’s wise men and mighty have planned.
Oh why wish for laughter? The wise man hath said,
That laughter is folly, yea, laughter is mad.
Oh how can the christian choose folly and mirth,
While God hath a work for his people on earth.
How reckless to jest, and the moment let slip,
When thou shouldest speak words that are holy and fit;
And, drunken with folly, be “courting a smile,”
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.4
When thy words should win tears from thy hearers, the while;
And the wicked are hardened in view of thy sin,
And thy gold hath the value and luster of tin.
Be sober, be sober, and watch unto prayer!
For Satan surrounds thee with many a snare,
His vigils are constant, and oh, thou art weak,
And thou needest the strength of the holy and meek.
LAURA C. HUTCHINS.
Ganges, July 1st, 1858.
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.5
The Christian Warfare
BRO. SMITH: My mind for some days has been running upon the necessity of living more devoted to God than many of us are doing. And I have sometimes thought it was duty for me to speak through the Review, as sometimes the smallest child in a family can suggest a thought which will benefit the whole family. Considering these things will the brethren hear one of the “feeble ones.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.6
The faithful and true Witness in addressing the second stage of the church says, “Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life. Revelation 2:10. Being faithful consists in something more than a mere profession of faith, simply sitting down and saying “I have faith;” faith must produce corresponding works. James 2:20. Hear Paul on this subject, 1 Timothy 6:11, 12. “But thou O man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.7
Here Paul addresses the “man of God,” the one who has made a good profession, and enjoins upon him to fight. Does the man of God want eternal life? Lay hold on it, it is within your grasp. But while our hands are full of this world, we are, to say the least, in a poor situation to lay hold on life, neither are we prepared to fight valiantly, while chained down to this world. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.8
The Christian life in the Scriptures is compared to a “race” or “battle.” But before producing any evidence on this point, allow me to ask. How many ever entered the race-paths, or enlisted in the army on a death bed? How many, think you, stopped to rest in the race-grounds? How many of those who stopped when fatigued, received the crown? “Hold fast that no man take thy crown,” is the admonition of the faithful and true Witness. What success would I have in running a race and carrying all I could get of this world with me? While I should be holding fast to the alluring baits of sense, some man would take my crown.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.9
Let us have the history of Paul as written by himself when he was ready to be offered, and the time of his departure was at hand. 2 Timothy 4:7, 8. “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, (or race,) I have kept the faith, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” In this testimony, we discover that there is a crown of righteousness laid up for Paul, in consequence of his having fought a good fight, finished his course, and kept the faith. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.10
But, as before remarked, we cannot run speedily with weights and besetments about us. Hence Paul says, “therefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and run with patience the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1. It is impossible for us to run when loaded down with weights; neither will we run the whole length of the road, unless we exercise patience. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.11
None get eternal life except “those who by patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory, honor, and immortality.” There is something more required of us than merely to start in the christian race. We must run patiently. May God help us to so run that we may obtain the prize. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.12
Having examined the race, let us try the “battle field.” But before we undertake to face the storm, we must put on the armor of God. 1 Thessalonians 5:8. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation. We should do but poor business in the battle field without faith and hope. Take these motives from the warrior and he will fight no longer. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.13
“Finally my brethren,” says the apostle, “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” How many of us are strong in the Lord. Are we not depending somewhat upon our own strength? I fear some of us are. But those of us who are kept unto salvation, are kept by the power of God through faith.” 1 Peter 1:5. The Lord is almighty. Knowing the truth, let us be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Let us beware lest we trust our own strength, and in so doing find out our own weakness. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Our foe is a spiritual one and therefore the weapons with which we fight are not carnal, but mighty through God. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Therefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having all to stand. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.14
Paul is not satisfied with having told them twice to stand, but he repeats, “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.” The injunction to stand, does not mean to stand still, but to stand against opposition. In the same verse where Paul enjoins steadfastness and immovability upon the church, he tells them to always abound (or move forward) in the work of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.15
But as we cannot stand unless we are equipped, we enquire what is the equipage? 1. A girdle of truth. 2. A breastplate of righteousness. But that will only protect the heart, so that we are as yet very illy prepared to ward off the fiery darts of the wicked. Thus far the armor is good; but there is something still lacking. What is it? 3. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Why have the gospel of peace upon our feet? Because we are fighting against the wiles of the devil. We should not go into the battle field barefoot. 4. Above all taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench (or turn) all the fiery darts of the wicked. A shield unless successfully used, will be of little or no consequence; but even when we do our best, we may at some time turn the dart so as to pierce our own head; hence the necessity of a helmet. 5. “And take the helmet of salvation.” Now we are fully equipped so far as the armor is concerned; and unless we turn our backs to the enemy, it will be impossible for him to wound us. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.16
Now let us go into the arena, not to stand still as a target for the enemy, but to fight, feeling assured that we shall gain the day, notwithstanding our arms are small, and the Devil’s large. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.17
But what are our weapons? 6. “And the sword of the spirit which is the word of God.” The word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.18
O, Brethren why not fight valiantly? Do you realize how completely the one who fights under our captain is equipped? He starts out in the strength of the Lord, with truth upon his loins, righteousness upon his breast, the gospel of peace upon his feet, the shield of faith upon his arm, the helmet of salvation upon is head, with the word of God in his hand. When we are thus armed, earth and hell may unite against us; but thank God our captain never lost a victory. Then let us fight on. The battle is almost fought; the victory is almost won; let us breast a few more billows, and we are in the harbor of eternal rest. The Bible student is now lifting his prophetic telescope and as he looks through it, methinks I hear him exclaim, “The land begins to heave in view; we are passing the land-marks.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.19
The City bright appears in sight,
We’re getting round the pier.”
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.20
Dear reader, may you and I patiently, fight valiantly, and finally receive a crown.
M. HULL.
Decatur City, Iowa, June 26th, 1858.
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.21
WIFE
WHEN everything is as it should be in domestic matters, how endearing is this title. From the account we have in the Bible of the introduction of sin into the world, with all its fearful consequences, the wife played a conspicuous part; and ever since that eventful period, she has had a great share in shaping the condition of the family circle. Much of domestic happiness depends upon the conduct of the wife. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.22
Is the wife a truly devoted christian, one who has a lively sense of the high position she fills in the domestic relations, especially if she be a mother, blessed with a good understanding? How sacred, how heavenly, are the joys of home, how well calculated to inspire love to God. Look at the wife who passes through the constantly accumulating cares of domestic life, with a cheerful, sweetened temper; how elevating the influence. Passing over the unnumbered cases given in the book written for our learning, let each one of us who live down here in the “hour of His judgment,” draw the contrast, and labor with a zeal commendable to the times, to imitate the best examples. In all we do, if we are Bible christians, we should demonstrate to all our associates, the religion of that book. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.23
Among us, who believe in the coming of the Lord Jesus, who believe that we shall live to behold his coming in the clouds, with power and great glory, (unless we die inordinarily soon) the wife should be a religious economist. No stock of living faith on the part of the husband and father, can stand the constant leakage of extravagant words, and mismanagement of her own, and the children’s temperament. Though he like Lot may barely make his escape, ten chances to one if the result is not a broken up family. Let us say, therefore, to the wives and mothers of “the remnant,” think of Sarah, whose daughters you are if so be that you are saved from the corruption that is in the world through lust. Stand not in the way of a well regulated, patriarchal, family government. Do not think that you will lessen your influence for good, by taking the second place in the family relation. Your mother Sarah did not over-estimate her husband’s, nor weaken her own authority by calling him lord. In view of bringing about this happy state of things, in all its simplicity and excellence, let each “husband know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and holiness.” J. DORCAS. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 78.24
CHARITY
IT is said by one, that, “charity is the perfection of human nature.” This is a good idea. But human nature, unaided, especially by the grace of God, can never arrive at that state of perfection, in which this grace can be exercised so as to please God, and save our souls. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.1
A great deal might be said about charity; but in this article I would beg the privilege, merely, to stimulate to the free exercise of it among the brethren. In the first place, I would say, that none are truly commandment-keepers, who do not live in the daily practice of this grace. See 1 Timothy 1:5. “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, etc.” And they who are not subject to the Law of God, have the carnal mind. Romans 8:7. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.2
Fleshly minded persons may go to great lengths in doing kind acts; but let us see to it that we are “spiritually minded” in all our kind offices toward each other. To know when our charity is right, see Paul’s rule, “It edifies,” 1 Corinthians 8:1, also all of chap.13. In short, charity is that preparation of heart that will enable us to do right, in a right manner, from a right motive. This should be applied in every day life. 1 Corinthians 16:14, “Let all your things be done with charity.” We need not be afraid of going too far in the practice of this heavenly grace, if we have attained to the prerequisite, “have fervent charity among yourselves.” 1 Peter 4:8. In view of this grace abounding, Paul rejoiced greatly. See 2 Thessalonians 1:3. “We are bound to thank God always for you brethren, because the charity of every one of you all towards each other aboundeth.” But be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12. And if, in the discharge of every duty, we should obey the injunction of Peter, “Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity,” peace may be with us all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen. 1 Peter 5:14. Now abideth faith, hope, charity. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.3
And ever thus in this lower world,
Should the banner of love be wide unfurled,
And when we meet in the world above,
May we love to live and live to love.”
J. DORCAS.
Fremont, O.
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.4
LETTERS
“Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another.”
From Sister Elliot
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: The word of God teaches that we ought to exhort one another daily, and so much the more as we see the day approaching. We are living in a solemn time, in the days of the sounding of the last message of mercy that this generation will ever hear, and it is evident from the word of God and events transpiring around us, that it is fast drawing to a close: “that the great decisive day is at hand.” I have great reason to thank the Lord for the light of the first and second Angel’s Messages, and that I have not been left to reject the third. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.5
I ever believed that God led his people out on the tenth of the seventh month, 1844, and that they did his will in preaching time. I then expected to see my Saviour coming with clouds, in power and great glory, to take the throne of his father David, and reign forever and ever; but the two thousand and three hundred days ended, and the Lord did not come. But as I had come out of Babylon, I had no desire to return again, therefore the last five verses of the 10th of Hebrews were very precious to me. “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward; for ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.6
The third Angel is now following the first two, and he must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. How sweet was the light of this angel when first I received it! It was like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. How very plain the Scriptures teach us that there is a sanctuary in heaven, (of which the earthly one in the Jewish dispensation was a type) which the Lord pitched and not man. We find St. John in the year 96 of the Christian era, and 63 years after the ministration in the heavenly sanctuary had ceased, describing a sanctuary which he saw in heaven. He says, I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, etc. And I turned to see the voice which spake with me, and being turned I saw seven golden candle-sticks, and in the midst of the seven candle-sticks one like unto the Son of man clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. Revelation 1:10, 12, 13. And another angel came and stood before the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which is before the throne. And the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire off the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. Revelation 8:3-5. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. Revelation 11:19. And after that I beheld, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. Revelation 15:5. St. John has here described not heaven itself, but something which he saw in heaven, even so to speak, the sanctuary and great High Priest of the Gentile dispensation, and not of ours only but where saints of all ages, since the ending of the prophetic days, have been and are now standing in their lot, that their sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.7
The solemn moment is at hand,
When we who have his name confessed,
Each in his lot must singly stand
And pass the final searching test.
“Jesus! we hope in thee alone;
In mercy now upon us look,
Confess our names before the throne,
And blot our sins from out thy book.”
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.8
According to the word of God the church have shortly got to pass through fiery trials especially when the Dragon begins to make war with the remnant of the woman’s seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ; but Michael will stand up, and his people will be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book, and they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever, and ever. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.9
The fig tree is budding, everything is proclaiming in glowing language that the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, and if we would escape the strong delusion which is sent to those who reject the truth, let us do the commandments of God that we may have a right to the tree of life and enter through the gates into the city. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.10
Yours in hope,
TRYPHENA N. ELLIOT.
Johnson Vt., June 24th, 1858.
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.11
From Bro. Schellhous
BRO. SMITH: For the first time I undertake to say a few words through the Review, and feel it my duty to give in my testimony to the present truth. I believe we are having the third and last message of mercy to the world, and my prayer is that the Lord will help me to live in accordance with this belief. By the grace of God assisting me I am determined to endure to the end; for the promise is to such that they shall be saved. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.12
It is now about one year since Brn. Bates and Waggoner left the impression on my mind that it was necessary to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus; and at that time I took a new start to know the will of the Lord and to keep all his commandments. I have no desire to even look back, but am determined to go on to know the Lord and his will concerning me. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.13
My dear companion is striving with me to overcome and to heed the admonition to buy of him gold tried in the fire that we may be rich towards God, and raiment that we may be clothed, and eye-salve that we may see clearly the way of life. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.14
We have no time to lose. I feel the need of a deeper work of grace in my heart, for the time draws near when he that shall come will come and will not tarry. May the Lord help each and every one of us to be in earnest; to be zealous and repent. May we realize that without holiness of heart no man shall see the Lord. My great desire is to hear the blessed invitation of Jesus, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Blessed hope of life and immortality beyond this world of sin and sorrow. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.15
L. SCHELLHOUS.
Colon, Mich., July, 1858.
From C. A. Chase
BRO. SMITH: I have had the privilege of seeing and reading the Review through the kindness of sister Bean, and being very anxious to take it I now write to have you send it to me. I have been striving to keep the Sabbath since January, that being my first of keeping the seventh day. I found favor in the sight of the Lord, if I can judge from past experience of the enjoyment that I had whilst I was with the nominal church. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.16
If I know my own heart I can truly thank the Lord for his continued mercies to me. I am the only one in this town that keeps the Sabbath; and it is my prayer that God will send some more of his messengers this way. I heard Brn. Barr and Bean last winter, and the truth that was there presented, it seems to me, no honest or candid man could reject. I believe that the Lord will yet bring out more to search for the truth, and raise up a host of saints to have their lamps trimmed and burning, and oil in their vessels. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.17
I am determined to so live as to be ready to meet Christ at his coming. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.18
Yours striving to overcome,
C. A. CHASE.
St. Albans Vt., June 13th, 1858.
ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.19
Sister Laura C. Hutchins writes from Ganges, July 1st, 1858: “It is now one year and a half since I felt it my duty to keep holy the seventh day. I have met with but one or two of like faith. I feel that the Lord has blest me in my endeavors to do his will, I feel greatly the need of grace to enable me to ‘deal justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with my God.’ I should like to meet with those who profess the Advent faith, and see for myself whether their faith is manifest by their works; for I know they are everywhere spoken against. My prayer is that the people of God may arise and let their light shine.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.20
OBITUARY
SISTER Polly D. Rice of Chester, Ottawa Co., Mich., died, of consumption, July 1st, aged 32 years, leaving her husband and two children to mourn her loss. She embraced the Sabbath about six years ago, in the city of Grand Rapids. She lived out her faith as near as she could. We hope that the family and friends, will live up to the good example set by her. I visited her a few days before her death, and found her resigned to the will of the Lord. Her hopes of salvation were bright. I preached on the occasion to a congregation of attentive hearers, taking as a subject, 1. The purchase of Christ. 2. The gift of God, 3. The reward of the saints. The impressions made on the occasion I trust may be lasting. J. B. FRISBIE. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.21
Jesus lived for you, and requires in return that you should live for him. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 79.22
THE REVIEW AND HERALD
BATTLE CREEK, MICH., JULY, 22, 1858.
WE had designed to furnish a larger share of the editorial matter for this paper; but our week has been almost entirely occupied in preparing for the press, the paper chart. To condense the greatest amount of information into a small space, and give such dates, important and prominent facts of history, with authorities, as shall meet the present want in this direction, has been a source of no small amount of study and anxiety. We have labored to make it suitable for the private study of believers in present truth, generally, and also convenient and valuable as a sheet of reference. If we have succeeded in this, all will at once see that it is just the thing to place in the hands of those who are beginning to investigate the subjects which so deeply interest us, or those whose attention we may wish to engage in their examination. By presenting prominent and interesting facts before the mind, and showing, as it were, at one view, chains of prophecy from their commencement to their close, some may be led to see the harmony of the prophetic word, and take an interest in these things who could not otherwise be reached. We hope it will be the means of spreading light and doing good. Bro. O. Davis, of North Berwick, Me., writes: “I approve much of the plan of getting out a cheap chart. I think it may give light on present truth (if its style is easy and simple) where it would be difficult to get it in any other way.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.1
For the information of those who have inquired, as well as all others, we would say that it will probably be printed before the issue of another paper. The reading it contains, in explanation of the symbols, is about equal, we think, to 24 pages of our common tract print. Price, single copies, 25 cts.; five for $1; $2 per dozen. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.2
T. J. Whitesitt writes from Mt. Pleasant, Green Co., Wis.: “Bro. Smith: There has been considerable agitation this last winter and spring upon the Law and Sabbath. We wish to ask through your paper if there is any brother who will take up that subject and discuss it with some brother that we may choose, and have it published for the benefit of investigators.” ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.3
We submit the above request to the messengers in the western field, that they may act upon it as their convenience or judgment may determine. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.4
Tent Meetings in Michigan
IN consequence of the continued cold, rainy weather, our commencement was two weeks later than we expected. We met with the church at Shelby two Sabbaths, and the Lord gave power to the word to the awakening of the lukewarm, much to our encouragement. On the second First-day eight were buried by baptism in commemoration of the burial and resurrection of Christ the Saviour of the world. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.5
Our first meeting in the tent was at Canandaigua, Oakland Co. We found the people much prejudiced at first, but their prejudice gave way as they learned our true position, and heard the evidence from Scripture. Our meetings were well attended and supported. We heard of a goodly number that decided to keep the Lord’s day, instead of the day the Pope sanctified. Two were baptized on the last day of our meeting. Books were taken very liberally, considering the hard times. About $14 dollars’ worth were taken. Thirty-five subscribed for the Review. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.6
A certain minister thought to do us much harm by the cry of “wolf,” but the Lord caused the wrath of man to praise him. It all turned out for the furtherance of the work of reform. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.7
We were all very much comforted by a visit from Bro. White who was with us the last two days of the meeting. His testimony on the Sabbath, one Law-giver, etc., seemed to be a complete binder on what had gone before, and we all felt that it was enough, and we were free to leave them to choose whom they would serve. If the Lord be God, then keep HIS Sabbath; but if the Pope of Rome be God, then keep his Sunday. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.8
We are now in Lapeer. We came to this place and had no friends, only as money made them; all was dark, and we felt that truly the Lord must work or our efforts here would be a failure. But when we had walked by faith nearly two days in advertising and preparing for a meeting without the least encouragement, suddenly we were surrounded by friends ready to help us in pitching and seating the tent, and welcome us to their homes. Our almost involuntary cry was, “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” The clouds are gone, and we feel confident that the Lord is going before us, and to him be all the glory. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.9
M. E. CORNELL.
R. J. LAWRENCE.
Lapeer, July 15th, 1858.
Meetings in Northern Mich
BRO. SMITH: We have just returned from our Northern trip. We finished our lectures in Chester, Ottawa Co., where we trust good has been done in the name of the Lord. Some few embraced the Sabbath, and there is hope that a number more will soon. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.10
We met the church in Wright three Sabbaths, and tried to strengthen them by showing the importance of union, and a good understanding of Bible truth, and a large share of the Spirit of the Lord, that their prayers might be spirited, and their testimonies short and pointed. Experience may be taught, but must also be learned. It is much easier to hear another’s experience than it is to learn one for ourselves. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.11
The Apostle says, “We glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Romans 5:3-5. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.12
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.” 2 Peter 1:4-12. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.13
There is much to be learned from the parable of the sower. Matthew 13:3-24. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.14
We left the church here in a prosperous and flourishing condition, and they may continue so if they keep humble, united and faithful. In addition to the thirty-eight that Bro. Rhodes baptized, there were twenty-two more baptized, which in all make sixty. Others are ready to move forward, and more will be soon. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.15
The opposition preaching has turned and established some in the present truth. We entertain no fears of those “good ground” hearers who learn of our faith with a full determination to live it out, being “turned from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” (the Sabbath;) but only such as love the traditions of men, as Sunday-keeping and other unscriptural doctrines that are not in the Bible at all, such as an immaterial God without body, the Son of God being his own father, heaven beyond space, that is nowhere, with an immaterial immortal soul just like God, being part of God himself, going to heaven or hell at death, that is, a part of God going to hell, then to be called out of hell to be united with the body to be sent back again to remain to all eternity to die the death that never dies, while the righteous may live the life that never lives. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.16
On our return we called to preach in Caledonia, and found we had no message for the people until the church lives up to the light already received. By the help of the Spirit of the Lord the cause of darkness was found to be with a few who had not the spirit of the present truth. These we hope will make straight work before God soon. J. B. FRISBIE. S. W. RHODES. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.17
IMPORTANCE OF A TEACHABLE DISPOSITION. - Dr. Taylor, of Norwich, England, once said to me, says the excellent Mr. Newton, “Sir, I have collated every word in the Hebrew Scriptures seventeen times; and it is very strange if the doctrine of atonement, which you hold, should not have been found by me.” I am not surprised at this: I once went to light my candle with the extinguisher on it; now, prejudices from education, learning, etc., often form an extinguisher. It is not enough that you bring the candle; you must remove the extinguisher. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.18
TRUTH AND ERROR. - If you want truth to go round the world, you must hire an express train to pull it; but if you want a lie to go round the world, it will fly: it is as light as a feather and a breath will carry it. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.19
Men usually follow their wishes till suffering compels them to follow their judgment. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.20
IF men were compelled to give a reason for every thing they profess to believe, one of two things is certain; either that reasons would become more abundant than they are in the present day, or that doctrines would be fewer. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.21
The wronged side is the safer side. Proverbs 12:5. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.22
It is the safest course in every affliction, to lodge the adequate cause of it in our own deserts. Isaiah 64:6, 7. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.23
It is the glory of a Christian not to be faint-hearted under trials. Deuteronomy 20:3; Isaiah 40:31; Hebrews 12:3; Revelation 2:3. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.24
APPOINTMENTS
PROVIDENCE permitting, it may be expected there will be meetings in the following places, as the brethren may appoint: ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.25
Windsor, Mich., Sabbath, July 24th, all day. First-day, where brethren may appoint. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.26
Portland, Tuesday, 27th, at 5 P. M. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.27
Ionia, Thursday, 29th, at 5 P. M. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.28
Vergennes, Sabbath, 31st, and hold over First-day. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.29
Bowne, Tuesday, Aug. 3rd and 4th, at 5 P. M. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.30
Grand Rapids, Thursday 5th. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.31
Wright, Sabbath and First-day, 7th and 8th. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.32
Caledonia, Tuesday, 10th, at 5 P. M. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.33
Gaines, Wednesday, 11th, at 5 P. M. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.34
Wayland, Thursday, 12th, at 5 P. M. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.35
Monterey, Sabbath and First-day, 14th and 15th. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.36
Allegan, Tuesday, 17th, at 5 P. M. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.37
Otsego, Thursday, 19th, at 5 P. M. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.38
Wherever it may be convenient the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper may be attended to. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.39
We shall have on hand books of all kinds on the present truth. J. B. FRISBIE. S. W. RHODES. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.40
Business Items
S. Myers:- Received. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.41
L. A. Bramhall:- The paper referred to has been sent to Oswego, N. Y. We now change to Oswego, and extend the credit three months longer. Having no tract treating particularly on the Scape-goat, we send REVIEW No. 4, Vol.ix, containing an article on that subject. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.42
R. Sawyer:- A copy of Litch’s Expositions and Miler’s Lectures can be had at this Office for $1. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.43
J. Barrows:- S. N. Smith’s paper is credited on our book to Vol. xii, No. 1. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.44
BOOKS SENT SINCE JULY 11TH, 1858 - R. Holland, Mich., Wm. H. Graham, Ct., B. Graham, Ct., Wm. Lawton, N.Y., H. Luce, Wis, S. C. Perry, Mich., A. Dixon, Ills., S. Myers, Ills., R. Sawyer, N. Y. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.45
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 then be given. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.46
FOR REVIEW AND HERALD
J. H. Palmer 1,00,xiii,3. H. W. Gordon 0,50,xii,20. H. C. McDearman 0,64,xii,20. Jno. Saulsbury 1,00,xiii,7. S. A. McPherson 2,00,xiv,3. James Sawyer 2,00,xiv,7. R. Blantern 0,25,xiii,1. I. Rogers 0,25,xiii,1. Chas. Bostwick 0,25,xiii,1. F. Kittle 0,50,xii,18. S. Rogers 1,00,xiii,5. A. Richardson 0,25,xiii,1. D. Stafford 1,00,xiii,1. A. M. Cole 2,50,xiv,17. Chas. Buck 0,25,xiii,1. W. Hastings 0,25,xiii,1. F. Bostwick 0,50,xii,16. J. E. James 1, 0,xiii,10. Wm. Merry 1,00,xiii,1. H. Town 2,00,xiii,1. H. Rockwell 3,00,xiii,1. J. Lunger 2,00,xiii,1. J. M. Avery 1,00,xiii,1. Wm. Mills 1,00,xii,1. P. H. Cady 2,00,xiii,19. J. Johnson 1,00,xiii,1. A. Dixon 1,00,xiii,9. Phebe Vedder (for J. Butler) 0,25,xiii,1. C. C. Collins (for J. S. Miner) 0,38,xiii,1. M. Slayton 1,00,xii,1. N. Hough 1,00,xiii,14. E. M. L. Corey 1,00,xiii,1. N. Landon 0,25,xii,23. H. Rowley 0,25,xii,23. J. Decker 0,25,xii,23. D. Waterman 0,25,xii,23. I. McCracken 0,25,xii,23. A. J. Whitmore 0,25,xii,23. M. Decker 0,25,xii,23. I. Haddrill 0,25,xii,23. E. Jones 0,25,xii,23. J. Gingell 0,25,xii,23. Wm. Potter 0,50,xiii,7. A. N. Curtis 1,00,xiii,1. E. Ingerson 1,00,xiii,10. Jno. Martin 1,00,xiii,1. C. Walker 1,00,xii,19. D. G. Needham (for C. Dugan) 0,50,xiii,1. H. W. Lawrence (0,50 each for A. Whitford & J. McGibbon) 1,00, each to xiii,10. Thos. F. Hubbard 1,00,xii,14. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.47
FOR POWER PRESS. - Wm. S. Lane $1. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.48
FOR MICH. TENT. - S. C. Perry $2. ARSH July 22, 1858, page 80.49