Earlier text: PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY.MY DEAR BRO. I: Since meeting you at the Maine camp-meeting, I have felt that it was not too late for you to set your heart and house in order. I know that you have been impressed by the Spirit of God; and now the question is, Will you, in response to this invitation to repent, gladly surrender your heart to God? Your case has been presented to me in vision; but while you were so completely under the control of the enemy of souls, I had no courage to send you the message given me of the Lord. I feared that you would make light of it, and that the Holy Spirit would be grieved away for the last time. But now I feel urged to send you this testimony, which will prove to you a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. Do not read this if you are decided to choose darkness rather than light, to serve mammon rather than Christ. But if you really want to do the will of God, and are willing to be saved in his own appointed way, then read the testimony; but do not read it to cavil, nor to pervert, ridicule, and despise it; for in that case it will be to you a savor of death unto death, and will witness against you in the Judgment. Before reading337 this warning message, go alone before God, and ask him to remove from you the spirit of defiance, rebellion, and unbelief, and to melt and subdue your stony heart. We do not understand the greatness and majesty of God, nor remember the immeasurable distance between the Creator and the creatures formed by his hand. He who sitteth in the heavens, swaying the scepter of the universe, does not judge according to our finite standard, nor reckon according to our computation. We are in error if we think that that which is great to us must be great to God, and that which is small to us must be small to him. He would be no more exalted than ourselves if he possessed only the same faculties. God does not regard all sins as of equal magnitude; there are degrees of guilt in his estimation as well as in that of finite man. But however trifling this or that wrong in their course may seem in the eyes of men, no sin is small in the sight of God. The sins which man is disposed to look upon as small may be the very ones which God accounts as great crimes. The drunkard is despised, and is told that his sin will exclude him from Heaven, while pride, selfishness, and covetousness go unrebuked. But these are sins that are especially offensive to God. He “resisteth the proud;” and Paul tells us that covetousness is idolatry. Those who are familiar with the denunciations against idolatry in the word of God, will at once see how grave an offense this sin is. God speaks through his prophet: "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." We need clear discernment, that we may measure sin by the Lord’s standard, and not by our own. Let us take for our rule, not human opinions, but the divine word. We are on the great battle field of life, and let it338 never be forgotten that we are individually responsible for the issue of the struggle; that though Noah, Job, and Daniel were in the land, yet should they deliver neither son or daughter by their righteousness. You, my brother, have not thought of this. But you have justified your own course because you thought that your brethren did not do right. Sometimes you have acted like a petted, spoiled child, and have talked unbelief and doubt to spite others; but will it pay? Is there anything in your family, in the church, or in the world to justify your indifference to the claims of God? Will any of your excuses avail when you stand face to face with the Judge of all the earth? How foolish and sinful will your selfish, avaricious course then appear. How unaccountable it will seem to you that you could let worldly opinions and worldly gain eclipse the reward to be given to the faithful,—an eternity of bliss in the Paradise of God. When you were in great physical suffering, and there was no hope for you in human skill, the Lord pitied you, and mercifully removed disease from you. Satan has sought to afflict and ruin you, and even to take your life; but your Saviour has shielded you again and again, lest you should be cut down when your heart was filled with a Satanic frenzy, your tongue uttering words of bitterness and unbelief against the Bible and against the truth you once advocated. When Satan has clamored for you, claiming you as his own, Christ has repulsed your cruel and malignant foe with the words: “I have not yet withdrawn my Spirit from him. He has two more steps to take before he will pass the boundary of my mercy and love. Souls are the purchase of my blood. The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; the Lord rebuke thee.” I was then carried back in your life, and you were shown to me when the truth found a response in your heart. The Spirit of God convicted you of the course you should pursue, and you had quite a struggle with self. You had been a sharp, scheming man. You had not done by others as you would wish them to do by you, but had taken advantage of them whenever you could.339 You had a close, stern battle to fight to subdue self and mortify pride; and it was only through the grace of God that this work could be accomplished. Instead of effecting a thorough reformation, you joined the truth to a patched-up character, which would not stand the test of temptation. You did not begin by seeking God with a broken and contrite heart, and making wrongs right. Had you done this, you would not have stumbled, and fallen into the snare of the enemy. There was a mixture of selfishness in your motives, which you yourself did not clearly see. Arguments drawn from worldly interest, social position, and comparative respectability, influenced you, and decided you not to make earnest, thorough work before God and men. Reaching after the worldly standard marred the sincerity and purity of your Christian character; and you failed to bring forth fruits meet for repentance. Zacchaeus declared, "If I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." You could at least have made efforts to correct your acts of injustice to your fellow-men. You cannot make every case right; for some whom you have injured have gone into their graves, and the account stands registered against you. In these cases the best you can do is to bring a trespass offering to the altar of the Lord, and he will accept and pardon you. But where you can, you should make reparation to the wronged ones. Had the unbelievers with whom you have associated seen in you the transforming power of the truth, they would have had an argument in favor of Christianity which they could not controvert. You might thus have reflected a clear, sharp light to the world; but instead of this you have mingled with the world, and imbibed its spirit. My brother, you must be born again. A mere form of Christianity is not of the least value. It is destitute of saving power, having in it no reformative energy. A religion which is confined to Sabbath worship emits no rays of light to others. I entreat you to examine your own heart closely. You have a combative, contentious spirit, and you are cultivating instead of repressing340 that spirit. You should make a decided change, and cultivate meekness, faith, humility, and love. Your soul is in peril; you will surely be subject to the strong delusions of Satan, unless you stop where you are, and press against the current of worldliness and ambition. Your relations with the world must be changed, and a decided separation must take place. The positions which you occupy, which are continually opening to you doors of temptation, must be given up. Avoid politics; shun contention. Keep clear of every office which would encourage those traits in your character that need to be battled down and overcome. My brother, you must make a strong, decided effort, or you will never be able to cast off the works of darkness. Satan looks upon you as his own. When you listen to the testimonies of God's servants, as at the late camp-meeting, you are deeply convicted. But you do not respond to the impressions of the Spirit of God, and as you mingle with worldlings, you drink in their spirit, and are borne down by the worldly current, having no moral power to resist its influence. You become one with the world-loving, and your spirit is worse than theirs, for your choice is voluntary. You love the praise of men, and you love worldly possessions above Jesus. The love of mammon has been woven into every fiber of your being, and has become all-absorbing. To eradicate it will be like plucking out the right eye or cutting off the right arm. But I speak to you as one who knows: unless you overcome this intense love of money, it will cost you your soul's salvation, and then it would have been better for you, had you never been born. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Just as far as you love and cherish the spirit of the world, you will have a spirit of defiance, and will question and find fault with those who bring you the message of truth. You will deride the truth, and will become a false witness, an accuser of the brethren. The talents given you of God to be improved to his glory, will be actively employed against his work and cause. There is no concord between Christ and Belial. You have already chosen341 the friendship of the world; therefore you are decidedly on the side of Satan. The natural heart is at enmity against God, and will resist the clearest evidence of truth. The wicked will not endure the light that condemns their wrong course of action. You have opened your heart to doubt and skepticism; but you will never be able to be an honest infidel. You may boast that you do not believe the Bible; but you will be perjuring yourself all the time, for you know better. I entreat you to make earnest work for eternal life. Break the snare of Satan; work against his devices. Let this be the language of your soul: “There is nothing in the universe that I fear so much as that I shall not know all my duty, or that, knowing, I shall fail to do it.” “Stand up for Jesus” were the words of a dying saint. Yes, Bro. I, stand up for Jesus. It will take all to do this. You may have to change your position in the world; but a name, distinction, office, are to you a snare, imperiling your soul. A calculating, worldly wisdom is continually seeking to turn you away from the Saviour. A bold, defiant, blasphemous infidelity will attempt to crush his gospel, not only out of your own soul, but out of the world. But stand up for Jesus. In the presence of your relatives and friends, in all your business relations, in your associations with the world,—anywhere and everywhere, under all circumstances, stand up for Jesus. DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS IN —: My mind has been exceedingly troubled in regard to your condition. I have not been able to sleep, and I arise at twelve o'clock to write to J, and to you as a church. I do not know what might have been the condition of J at the present time had you pursued a righteous, Christian course toward him,—such a course as every child of God should pursue in such a case. Some of you342 will not be able to comprehend my words; for your own course has placed you where you have not sanctified discernment. You have allowed strong, hard feelings against him to come into your hearts, and have justified yourselves in treating him with indifference, and even contempt. You have reasoned that by his unbelief and his wrong course he was certainly injuring the church and endangering souls, and you must have no fellowship with him. But will you, in the light of God's great standard of righteousness, critically examine every word and act of your own that you can call to mind, and compare these with the life of Christ? If you have been doing the will of God, then his light and his approval will second your efforts, and prosperity will attend you. I wish the members of this once prosperous church would each begin to build over against his own house. When they see their course in its true light, they will know that they have made a very great mistake in allowing their own critical, Pharisaical spirit to control their tongues and develop itself in their treatment of their brethren. This unchristian harshness has excluded Jesus from the church, and has brought in a spirit of dissension. It has fostered a disposition to judge and condemn, a hatred of those who do not see things as you see them. Even if your brethren say and do many things that really injure you, will you push them one side, and say, "I am holier than thou"? "By their fruits ye shall know them." Christ has not been revealed in your deportment toward some who were much nearer the kingdom of Heaven than yourselves. The Lord has opened before you your wrong toward his children; your want of mercy and love, your determination to control minds and make them see things just as you see them. And when light came to you, what course did you take? Did you merely admit that you were wrong, or did you heartily confess your error, and humble your proud hearts before God? Did you cast aside your ways, and accept God's teachings? Did you go to the very ones you had bruised and wounded, and say, "I have been wrong; I have sinned against you,343 Forgive me. I have failed; I have worked in my own spirit. I had a zeal, but not according to knowledge. It was the spirit of Jehu, rather than the meekness and lowliness of Christ. The word of God directs, 'Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.' Will you pray for me that God will forgive me for the distress and anguish I have caused you?" If you who have engaged in this work of bruising and condemning have not heartily repented, then light, peace, and joy will not come into your souls. When you are careful, kind, and tender to your brethren in the same degree that you have been hard, unforgiving, and oppressive, you will confess your faults, and make restitution as far as possible; and when you have done all on your part, you may ask the Lord to do that which it is impossible for you to do,—heal the wounds you have made, forgive you, and blot out your transgression. When there is so great reluctance to confess a wrong which is laid open and plain before the erring, it shows that they are controlled by their own untamable, unsanctified natures rather than by the spirit of the gospel of Christ. If God has ever spoken by me, you have most earnest work to do in zealous repentance for showing to the erring the Satanic element in your character not in coldness and indifference merely, but in neglect and contempt. If they are indeed in darkness, and doing things that imperil their souls, you should manifest the greater interest in them. Show them that while you will be true to principle, and will not swerve from the right, you love their souls. Let them know by your words and actions that you have not a spirit of revenge and retaliation, but that for their sakes you will sacrifice feeling and subdue self. Represent Jesus, our pattern; manifest his spirit at all times and under all circumstances, and let that mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus. Your ways have not been God's ways; your will has not been God's will. The precious plant of love has not been cultivated, and watered by the dews of344 grace. Self-love, self-righteousness, self-complacency, have exerted a controlling power. What has Jesus done for you, and what is he continually doing for us individually? What have you that you have not received? Said Christ: “I am the vine, ye are the branches.” “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” The branches do not sustain the vine, but the vine supports and nourishes the branches. The church does not support Christ, but Christ, by his vital power, supports the church. It is not enough to be a branch; we are to be fruitful branches. “He that abideth in me,” said Jesus, “and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.” But if the fruit produced be that of the thorn-bush, it is evident that we are not branches of the Living Vine. Life is disciplinary. While in the world, the Christian will meet with adverse influences. There will be provocations to test the temper; and it is by meeting these in a right spirit that the Christian graces are developed. If injuries and insults are meekly borne, if insulting words are responded to by gentle answers, and oppressive acts by kindness, this is evidence that the Spirit of Christ dwells in the heart, that sap from the Living Vine is flowing to the branches. We are in the school of Christ in this life, where we are to learn to be meek and lowly of Heart; and in the day of final accounts we shall see that all the obstacles we meet, all the hardships and annoyances that we are called to bear, are practical lessons in the application of principles of Christian life. If well endured, they develop the Christlike in the character, and distinguish the Christian from the worldling. There is a high standard to which we are to attain if we would be children of God, noble, pure, holy, and undefiled; and a pruning process is necessary if we would reach this standard. How would this pruning be accomplished if there were no difficulties to meet, no obstacles to surmount, nothing to call out patience and345 endurance? These trials are not the smallest blessings in our experience. They are designed to nerve us to determination to succeed. We are to use them as God's means to gain decided victories over self, instead of allowing them to hinder, oppress, and destroy us. Character will be tested. Christ will be revealed in us if we are indeed branches of the Living Vine. We shall be patient, kind, and forbearing, cheerful amid frets and irritations. Day by day and year by year we shall conquer self and grow into a noble heroism. This is our allotted task; but it cannot be accomplished without continual help from Jesus, resolute decision, unwavering purpose, continual watchfulness, and unceasing prayer. Each one has a personal battle to fight. Each must win his own way through struggles and discouragements. Those who decline the struggle lose the strength and joy of victory. No one, not even God, can carry us to Heaven unless we make the necessary effort on our part. We must put features of beauty into our lives. We must expel the unlovely natural traits that make us unlike Jesus. While God works in us to will and to do of his own good pleasure, we must work in harmony with him. The religion of Christ transforms the heart. It makes the worldly-minded man heavenly-minded. Under its influence the selfish man becomes unselfish, because this is the character of Christ. The dishonest, scheming man becomes upright, so that it is second nature to him to do unto others as he would have others do unto him. The profligate is changed from impurity to purity. He forms correct habits; for the gospel of Christ has become to him a savor of life unto life. Now, while probation lingers, it does not become one to pronounce sentence upon others, and look to himself as a model man. Christ is our model; imitate him, plant your feet in his steps. You may professedly believe every point of present truth, but unless you practice these truths it will avail you nothing. We are not to condemn others; this is not our work; but we should love one another and pray for one another. When we see one err from the truth, then we may weep over him as346 Christ wept over Jerusalem. Let us see what our heavenly Father, in his word, says about the erring: "If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." "If any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." What a great missionary work is this! how much more Christlike than for poor, fallible mortals to be ever accusing and condemning those who do not exactly meet their minds. Let us remember that Jesus knows us individually, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows the wants of each of his creatures, and reads the hidden, unspoken grief of every heart. If one of the little ones for whom he died is injured, he sees it, and calls the offender to account. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He cares for his feeble, sickly, wandering sheep. He knows them all by name. The distress of every sheep and every lamb of his flock touches his heart of sympathizing love, and the cry for aid reaches his ear. One of the greatest sins of the shepherds of Israel is thus pointed out by the prophet: "The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd; and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill; yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them." Jesus cares for each one as though there were not another individual on the face of the earth. As Deity, he exerts mighty power in our behalf, while as our Elder Brother he feels for all our woes. The Majesty of Heaven held not himself aloof from degraded, sinful347 humanity. We have not a high priest who is so high, so lifted up, that he cannot notice us or sympathize with us, but one who was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. How different from this spirit is the feeling of indifference and contempt that has been manifested by some in —— toward J and those who have been affected by his influence. If ever the transforming grace of God was needed, it is needed in this church. In judging and condemning a brother, they have undertaken to do a work that God never put into their hands. A hardness of heart, a censorious, condemnatory spirit that would destroy individuality and independence, has been woven into their Christian experience, and they have lost the love of Jesus out of their hearts. Make haste, brethren, to get these things off your soul before it shall be said in Heaven, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” You will have many perplexities to meet in your Christian life in connection with the church; but do not try too hard to mold your brethren. If you see that they do not meet the requirements of God’s word, do not condemn; if they provoke, do not retaliate. When things are said that would exasperate, quietly keep your soul from fretting. You see many things which appear wrong in others, and you want to correct these wrongs. You commence in your own strength to work for a reform; but you do not go about it in the right way. You must labor for the erring with a heart subdued, softened by the Spirit of God, and let the Lord work through you, the agent. Roll your burden on Jesus. You feel that the Lord must take up the case, where Satan is striving for the mastery over some soul; but you are to do what you can in humility and meekness, and put the tangled work, the complicated matters, into the hands of God. Follow the directions in his word, and leave the outcome of the matter to his wisdom. Having done all you can to save your brother, cease worrying, and go calmly about348 other pressing duties. It is no longer your matter, but God's. Do not, through impatience, cut the knot of difficulty, making matters hopeless. Let God untangle the snarled-up threads for you. He is wise enough to manage the complications of our lives. He has skill and tact. We cannot always see his plans; we must wait patiently their unfolding, and not mar and destroy them. He will reveal them to us in his own good time. Seek for unity; cultivate love and conformity to Christ in all things. He is the source of unity and strength; but you have not sought for Christian unity, that you might knit hearts together in love. There is work for you to do in the church and out of the church. "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit." The fruit we bear is the only test of the character of the tree before the world. This is the proof of our discipleship. If our works are of such a character that as branches of the Living Vine we bear rich clusters of precious fruit, then we wear before the world God's own badge as his sons and daughters. We are living epistles, known and read of all men. Now, I fear that you will fail in doing the work you must do to redeem the past and become living, fruit-bearing branches. If you do as God would have you, his blessing will come into the church. You have not yet been humble enough to make thorough work and meet the mind of the Spirit of God. There has been self-justification, self-pleasing, self-vindication, when there should have been humiliation, contrition, and repentance. You should remove every stumbling-block, and make “straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way.” It is not too late for wrongs to be righted; but you must not feel that you are whole, and have no need of a physician, for you need help. When you come to Jesus with a broken heart, he will help and bless you, and you will go forth in the Master's work with courage and energy. The best evidence that you are in Christ is the fruit you bear. If you are not truly united to him, your light and privileges will condemn and ruin you. DEAR BRO. J: I have arisen at twelve o’clock to write to you, because my mind is burdened. I am troubled on your account; for I know that we are near the close of earth’s history, and your life-record is not such a one as you will be pleased to meet in the great day when every man will receive as his works have been. You may feel that others have done wrong; and I know as well as you do that a Christlike spirit has not been manifested in the church. But will this avail you in the Judgment? Will two wrongs make one right? Though one, two, or three in the church have done wrong, this will not blot out or excuse your sin. Whatever course others may take, your work is to set your own heart in order. God has claims upon you which no circumstances should lead you to forget or neglect; for every soul is precious in his sight. My heart is drawn out after those who have stumbled on the dark mountains of unbelief, and I want to help them. There is good material in the church in —; but the members have not been transformed by the Spirit of God, and brought into a position where they can let their light shine to the world. Some, with the best of motives, and possessing capabilities for great usefulness, utterly fail in times of trial in the church, for want of the love and mercy that dwelt so richly in the heart of Christ. They see one in error; and instead of helping him they hold themselves aloof. They are inclined to make unpleasant allusions, and to touch sensitive spots when they might avoid them. Self comes up and bears sway, and they give pain and stir up wrong feelings. However pure their intentions, their efforts to do good nearly always result in failure, if not in actual harm, because the tenderness and compassion of Christ are wanting. They would make very good surgeons, but they are poor nurses. They have not the tact that is born of love. If they had this, they would know how to speak the right word and do the right thing at the350 right time and in the right place. Others may have no more sincere desires to do right, no deeper interest in the cause of God; they may be no more true and loyal, their sympathies no deeper, their love no warmer; yet because of their gentleness and tact they are far more successful in winning back the erring. The Lord would be pleased to have his people more considerate than they now are, more merciful and more helpful to one another. When the love of Christ is in the heart, each will be tenderly regardful of the interests of others. Brother will not take advantage of brother in business transactions. One will not charge exorbitant interest because he sees his brother in a close place, where he must have help. Those who will take advantage of the necessities of another, prove conclusively that they are not governed by the principles of the gospel of Christ. Their course is recorded in the books of Heaven as fraud and dishonesty; and wherever these principles rule, the blessing of the Lord will not come into the heart. Such persons are receiving the impress of the great adversary rather than that of the Spirit of God. But those who shall finally inherit the heavenly kingdom must be transformed by divine grace. They must be pure in heart and life, and possess symmetrical characters. I regard you, my brother, as in great peril. Your treasure is laid up on the earth, and your heart is upon your treasure. But all the means you may accumulate, even though it should be millions, will not be sufficient to pay a ransom for your soul. Then do not remain in impenitence and unbelief, and in your case defeat the gracious purposes of God; do not force from his reluctant hand destruction of your property or affliction of your person. How many there are who are now taking a course which must erelong lead to just such visitations of judgment. They live on day by day, week by week, year by year, for their own selfish interest. Their influence and means, accumulated through God-given skill and tact, are used upon themselves and their families, without thought of their gracious Benefactor. Nothing is allowed351 to flow back to the Giver. Indeed, they come to regard life and its intrusted talents as their own; and if they render back to God that portion which he justly claims, they think that they have placed their Creator under obligation to them. At last his patience with these unfaithful stewards is exhausted; and he brings all their selfish, worldly schemes to an abrupt termination, showing them that as they have gathered for their own glory, he can scatter, and they are helpless to resist his power. Bro. J, I address you to-day as a prisoner of hope. But will you consider that your sun passed its meridian some time ago, and is now rapidly declining? The evening has come. Do you not discern the lengthening shadows? You have but a little time left in which to work for yourself, for humanity, and for your Master. There is a special work to be done for your own soul if you are ever to be numbered with the overcomers. How stands your life-record? Is Jesus pleading in your behalf in vain? Shall he be disappointed in you? Some of your companions, who stood side by side with you, have already been summoned away. Eternity will reveal whether they were bankrupt in faith and failed to secure eternal life, or whether they were rich toward God, and heirs of the “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Will you not consider that the long forbearance of God toward you calls for repentance and humiliation of soul before him? There are other weighty considerations aside from your own personal salvation, which demand your attention. Late as it now is, with your sun about to sink behind the western hills, you have still a great work to do for your children, who have allowed the love of the world to separate them from God. You have also unsaved relatives, neighbors, and friends. Had your example been consistent with the light given you; had you been as diligent to save these precious souls as you have been to gather earthly treasure; had you used your means and influence, your wisdom and tact, in an effort to gather these straying ones into the fold of Christ,—352 had this been your life-work, you would have secured a harvest of souls, and would have insured a rich reward in the day of God. You would thus have been building upon the true foundation valuable and imperishable material; but instead of this you have been building wood, hay, and stubble, to be consumed when every man's work shall be tried, of what sort it is. Your life has been a failure. You have been a stumbling-block to sinners. They have said of you, "If the religion which this man professes is indeed genuine, why is he so eager after this world? Why does he not in his own conduct show the spirit of Christ?" Hasten, my brother, before it is forever too late, to remove this stumbling-block from the way of sinners. Can you look with pleasure upon your life or upon the influence you have exerted? Will you now consider your ways? Will you now make efforts to come into right relations with God? I do not believe your heart is unimpressible, and I know that the loving-kindness and tender mercy of God are marvelous. You have a little time of probation, will you improve it now, while Jesus is pleading his blood before the Father? He has graciously spared your life; but it has been like the barren fig-tree, upon which year after year there appeared no fruit, nothing but leaves. How long will you continue to disappoint the Master? Will you compel him to say, "Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever;" or, "Cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?" Oh, wait not for the Lord to put his hand against you, and scatter the property which you have accumulated. Remember that all your wealth will not give you one moment of sweet assurance and peace upon your dying bed. I earnestly urge upon you the necessity of returning to the Lord at once. I entreat you to disappoint the enemy. Break from off you his cruel power. Seek, during the remainder of your life, to make an entirely different record in Heaven, one of which you will not be ashamed when the books shall be opened, and the Judge shall pronounce sentence upon those who have neglected this great salvation. Paul exhorts his Ephesian brethren to redeem the time, because the days are evil. This exhortation is very applicable to you. In one sense it is impossible to redeem the time; for once gone, it is gone forever. But you are called upon to reform, to be zealous of good works in the same degree that you have been negligent of duty. Turn square about. Double your diligence to make your calling and election sure. Keep God's commandments, and live, and his law as the apple of your eye. Tax every moment to the utmost in laboring for your own eternal interest and for the salvation of souls around you. By so doing you may save both yourself and those who are more or less controlled by your example. These are motives which should be duly considered. Wake up! wake up! You have work to do, and your sun is fast hastening to its setting. Your powers are becoming enfeebled; but all there is of you, every particle of your ability, belongs to God, and should be used earnestly and disinterestedly in his service. Work while the sun still lingers in the heavens; for the "night cometh, when no man can work." Come, my brother, come just as you are, sinful and polluted. Lay your burden of guilt on Jesus, and by faith claim his merits. Come now, while mercy lingers; come with confession, come with contrition of soul, and God will abundantly pardon. Do not dare to slight another opportunity. Listen to the voice of mercy that now pleads with you to arise from the dead that Christ may give you light. Every moment now seems to connect itself directly with the destinies of the unseen world. Then let not your pride and unbelief lead you to still further reject offered mercy. If you do, you will be left to lament at the last, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Wait in deep humiliation before God. From this hour, resolve to be the Lord's, doing your whole duty, trusting implicitly in the great atonement. Do this, and you will have nothing to fear. The remainder of your life-journey will be tranquil and happy, and you will secure354 to yourself that life which shall continue as long as God shall live. I have written this because I felt urged to do so by the Spirit of God, and because I have a deep interest for you. Do not for one moment let your feelings rise against me; for I have been influenced by love for your soul. We have enjoyed many precious seasons in worshiping God, when our hearts were made joyful by his sweet blessing. Are these seasons forever past? We may never meet again in this life; but shall we not meet when the ransomed are gathered around the great white throne?